SINGAPORE – It was lunchtime in the heart of Orchard Road, but foot traffic at Metro Paragon was light.
A few shoppers browsed the racks, some searching for gifts, others comparing home appliances.
Waiting patiently outside as his wife shopped was retiree Boon Kiat, who had accompanied his wife to the mall.
“Online shopping is not for us. We prefer to be there in person,” he said.
Boon Kiat, who is in his 60s and lives nearby, shared that he and his wife visit the department store two or three times a month, often to buy household items.
“Our bedsheets, kitchenware and appliances, we get from Metro. We have to find another option.”
Like him, several shoppers whom The Straits Times spoke to on July 21 said they were saddened by the news that Metro will close its department stores at Paragon and Causeway Point when their leases expire.
Veronica Chan, who works in human resources, regularly visits the four-level department store at Paragon during her lunch breaks as “it gives me a sense of calm”.
“Looking at what they have on offer and thinking about whether I want to buy it is therapy for me. It will be sad to see this Metro go away,” said Chan, who is in her 50s.
Over the course of an hour, about 40 shoppers trickled into Paragon department store.
For freelance designer Mabel, who declined to give her last name, Metro is where she goes when she has no idea what to buy someone.
“Metro sells so many different sorts of things. It helps to look through everything, and somehow an idea will form.
“The mall will have to find something as good as Metro to take its place,” added Mabel, who is in her 20s.
Even tourists said they would miss the retailer.
Katherine A., from the United States, said she usually visits Paragon on the final day of her trips to Singapore to pick up gifts for family members back home.
“I think it will be a loss to close this place because the offerings are extensive,” she said.
Founded in 1957, Metro Singapore has been a fixture in the Republic’s retail landscape for nearly seven decades. Its Paragon outlet opened in December 1987, while its Causeway Point store began operations in 1998.
As online shopping and speciality retailers reshaped consumer habits, the golden age of Singapore’s department stores came to an end.
Stalwarts such as John Little disappeared, Isetan has shrunk its footprint, and Robinsons – which tried to reinvent itself with a more fashion-forward offering – ultimately closed its physical stores after 162 years in Singapore and now lives only online.
One challenge for physical stores – departmental stores included – is competing with lower online prices.
For example, ST’s checks on July 21 found that a Tefal Air Fryer Steam and Grill retails for $269 at Metro but just $228 on Shopee. Meanwhile, an Iris Ohyama standing fan retailed for $249 at Metro, more than double the $120 price listed on the brand’s official Shopee store.
But in the battle between bricks and clicks, some shoppers still prefer the in-store experience.
At Causeway Point in Woodlands, Koh, who declined to give his full name, said he occasionally visits Metro to buy appliances.
“I just come here once in a while instead of buying appliances online because I can still feel the quality of the products in person,” said the 30-something-year-old.
He was one of about 30 shoppers spotted at the store over the lunchtime hour, most of them browsing the appliances floor.
Metro declined to give a timeline for its closing, when asked.
Store promoters at the Causeway Point store appeared uncertain about when the closure would take place.
One said he believed the lease could end “next year”, while another said the outlet was not expected to close anytime soon, although she understood it could happen “in the next few months”. She added that the ongoing sale at the store was unrelated to the planned closure.
In a Singapore Exchange filing on July 20, mainboard-listed Metro Holdings announced that it would close its stores at Paragon and Causeway Point when their leases expire as part of a strategic review of its retail business.
The company said it plans to move away from the traditional large-format department store model and is evaluating smaller-format stores, multi-speciality concepts, curated retail experiences and pop-up initiatives.
While a regular at Metro Paragon, Chan admitted: “I don’t purchase much unless I need something. Last week I bought a water bottle, and before that, I bought a handbag a few months ago.”
For her, the joy was in wandering the store’s “women’s clothes, bags and makeup sections to see what they have on sale”.
“I hope they put something similar in this spot,” she added. “It has been part of my routine for so long.”
