Singaporeans should have heard about Robinsons closing down for good.
I read the memory piece by Straits Times and had the following reflection.
The outlet at Raffles Chambers was hit twice by Japanese bombs in 1942. It reopened the next day. Bombs didn’t kill Robinsons.
Robinsons was closed for 3 years during WWII and reopened in 1946. War didn’t kill Robinsons.
The store at Raffles Place was destroyed by fire, which killed nine people and wiped out $21 million worth of property. No, the fire didn’t kill Robinsons.
So what killed Robinsons?
The answer was given by Charles Darwin.
“It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”
Consumer preference has shifted with ecommerce and social media. Customer reviews, recommendation engines, Instagram influencers, blogshops, indie shops, live streaming, and the likes are in. Departmental stores are out. Robinsons, like many other retail, has failed to adapt to this new environment.