Robinsons, long a feature on Singapore’s retail scene, is a store that I have always associated with Christmas shopping. I loved the fabulous toy department as a child – when the store was at its iconic Raffles Chambers location in Raffles Place. Terrified as I may have been of Father Christmas (or Santa Claus is he is more commonly known these days), the toy department held many more pleasant memories for me. I was especially fond of their pre-Christmas lucky dips. I once obtained a wonderful childhood toy once from it in the form of an orange battery operated submersible. Sadly I could only find use of that in the bathtub of a government holiday bungalow in the Tanah Merah area of Singapore.
Founded in 1858, the store moved into Raffles Chambers just before the Second World War came to Singapore. That burned down just before Christmas in 1972 — after which, the store became associated with the fast developing Orchard Road shopping scene, opening at Specialists Centre, before moving into Centrepoint – which it co-developed with Cold Storage. The evolving retail scene has however put pressure on the brand and the . COVID-19 pandemic proved to be the tipping point.
So sadly, after 162 years in business, the legendary name is making an exit in a rather inglorious fashion — with a closing down sale at its two remaining stores at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre.
Subject to confirmation, the liquidators are hoping the stores will remain open for the coming weeks to facilitate final sales for customers before they are shuttered. A spokesperson for Robinsons said, “There are some fantastic deals to be found in-store, we encourage customers to visit stores as everything is now reduced and we expect ranges to sell out fast.”
