Business

Robinsons Singapore throws in the towel after 162 years

Published

6 years ago

2020/11/1

LYNETTE TAN

ROBINSONS Singapore, one of the oldest retailers in the Republic with more than a century in business, will close down for good following losses in recent years. But its last two stores at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre may remain open for a while more for final sales.

The Business Times (BT) on Thursday found that the department store operator had been put under a creditors’ voluntary winding-up.

Robinson & Co (Singapore) confirmed it in a statement on Friday. Its senior general manager, Danny Lim, said: “We regret this outcome today. Despite recent challenges in the industry, the Robinsons team continued to pursue the success of the brand. However, the changing consumer landscape makes it difficult for us to succeed over the long term and the Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated our challenges.”

He added that it has been “an honour” for Robinsons to serve the Singapore market and that he was “grateful for the dedication of (the) team, and for the support shown by (its) customers over the years”

Robinsons employees have been informed by management and the provisional liquidators of this news. The company said that employees will be paid in line with the next payment cycle, “well in advance of the usual liquidation process timing which would usually take months”.

The exit puts an end to at least six years of losses that Robinsons has chalked up against declining revenues.

Financial records show that the company made a loss after tax from continuing operations of S$26.5 million in 2014. It sank further into the red up until 2018, when it recorded losses of S$54.4 million. The exception to this was in 2015, when it narrowed its losses to S$17.4 million.

Meanwhile, Robinsons’ topline shrunk. It generated S$153.8 million in revenue in 2018, down from the S$257.3 million it made in 2014.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Robinsons has shown signs of further strain with the closure of its 85,000 sq ft outlet at Jem shopping mall in May. At the time, it had similarly told BT that competition from the rapid increase in suburban malls had made having multiple, large-scale department stores in Singapore unsustainable “well before” the pandemic surfaced. Even so, “the challenges we are facing with the ongoing Covid-19 situation are extremely difficult and the uncertainty is very unsettling for all”, it added.

Robinsons said its stores in Malaysia, located at Shoppes at Four Seasons Place and The Gardens Mall, will also undergo a similar liquidation process concurrently.

Other department stores could find themselves in Robinsons’ shoes.

In August, Japanese department store operator Isetan Singapore recorded a net loss of S$317,000 for the quarter to June 30, compared with a net profit of S$1.6 million in the same period a year earlier. This was mainly due to a decline in sales as well as impairment losses on financial assets.

It had also warned that the retail environment remains “very challenging” and that a material recovery is not expected in 2020.

Robinson’s Singapore, set up over a century ago in 1858 by John Spicer, an immigrant from Australia and Philip Robinson, a former jail keeper in Singapore, in Commercial Square (now Raffles Place) as Spicer and Robinson, once one of Singapore’s largest retailers. It was apparently to Malayans what Harrods is to Londoners. Spicer left the business in 1859 when it became Robinson and Co.

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Business

ADB approves $100 million loan to boost skills development and jobs for youth in Sri Lanka

Published

2 hours ago

2026/10/2

Thilina Walpola

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million results-based loan to help Sri Lanka transform its technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system, equip more young people with industry-relevant skills, and strengthen the country’s competitiveness and inclusive growth.

The Skills Development System Transformation Program will support the Government of Sri Lanka’s efforts in improving the quality and relevance of skills training, strengthening links between training providers and industries, and expanding employment opportunities for youth. The program will increase women’s employment opportunities in nontraditional jobs in fields including automotive technology, engineering, information and communications technology, construction, and renewable energy.

“A skilled workforce is essential to Sri Lanka’s long-term economic transformation and competitiveness,” said ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Shannon Cowlin. “This program will help create stronger pathways from education to employment by making training more responsive to industry needs, expanding opportunities for young people and women, and ensuring that graduates have the skills required by a modern and evolving economy.”

Though Sri Lanka’s economy is recovering, it faces skills shortages in priority sectors, high youth unemployment, and low female labor force participation. Many employers report difficulty finding workers with the skills needed in a changing economy.

Aligned with the Government of Sri Lanka’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training Sector Strategic Framework 2026–2035, the nationwide program will be implemented from 2027 to 2031 and is expected to directly benefit more than 100,000 young people through improved access to quality, employment-oriented training.

Business

USD 40.84m pipeline to secure aviation fuel supplies to BIA

Published

2 hours ago

2026/10/2

Thilina Walpola

By Ifham Nizam

The government has cleared a USD 40.84 million and Rs. 8,548.75 million contract to build a dedicated aviation fuel pipeline from Muthurajawela to Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), alongside a massive new fuel storage facility with a capacity of 92,000 cubic metres.

Energy Minister Anura Karunatilaka said the project represented a major investment in strengthening the infrastructure underpinning Sri Lanka’s aviation fuel supply and ensuring more reliable fuel availability at the country’s main international airport.

‘This project will provide the infrastructure required to strengthen the reliability and continuity of aviation fuel supplies to Bandaranaike International Airport, Karunatilaka said.

The contract has been awarded to China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Company Limited, following an international competitive procurement process in which three bids were received.

The project will see a new aviation fuel storage tank complex constructed at Muthurajawela, together with the associated infrastructure required for handling and transferring aviation fuel.

Business

CSE activity up, turnover weak at Rs. 1.4 billion

Published

2 hours ago

2026/10/2

Thilina Walpola

By Hiran H Senewiratne

Trading activity on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) gathered pace yesterday as global fuel prices began to show signs of easing, according to market analysts.In this context, both indices moved upwards. All Share Price Index up by 67.97 points while S and P SL20 up by 8.30 points.

Turnover stood at Rs 1.4 billion with seven crossings. Those crossings were reported in Sampath Bank 1.7 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 238 million and its share price traded at Rs 140, Access Engineering two million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 159 million and its share price traded at Rs 79.50, LOLC one million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 129 million and its share price traded at Rs 129, HNB 100,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 38.4 million and its share price traded at Rs 384, JKH 1.9 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 35 million and its share price traded at Rs 18.60, Hayleys 100,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 22.50 million and its share price traded at Rs 225 and Richard Pieris 847,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 22 million and its share price traded at Rs 25.50.

In the retail market top seven companies that have mainly contributed to the turnover were Sampath Bank Rs 114 million (813,000 shares traded), JKH Rs 100 million (5.3 million shares traded) LB Finance Rs 49 million (325,000 shares traded), HNB Finance Rs 30 million (27 million shares traded), HNB Rs 27 million (70000 shares traded), NTB Rs 25 million (82000 shares traded ) and Lanka IOC Rs 21 million (666,000 shares traded). During the day 65 million shares volumes changed hands in 10433 transactions.

The Banking and manufacturing sector counters performed well. In the banking sector Sampath Bank let the market while manufacturing sector especially JKH also significantly performed well. With the fuel revision Land IOC also a significant stock at the floor.

Meanwhile, First Capital Treasuries said that Ramesh Schaffter resigned as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director with effect from October 1, to facilitate the restructuring of the company’s board.

Yesterday the Central Bank announced the US Dollar rate as against rupee. The rupee was quoted flat at Rs 330.65/80 to the US dollar in the spot market , while bond yields dropped, dealers said.