In June 2013, Robinsons opened its first suburban branch at Jem in Jurong East, with four floors of retail space at nearly 85,000 square feet. At the time, the store promised 77 labels exclusive to it, plus a section given over to Singapore designers.
The opening drew attention to the west of the island as a shopping destination, and to the way a department store could back local fashion.
What opened in June 2013
The store was laid out by floor. Beauty, jewellery and accessories were on level one. Women’s apparel was on level two and men’s on level three. The home and lifestyle department on level four was set to open on 22 June 2013 as part of the grand opening. The store’s homeware range included the Orla Kiely collection.
The store’s address was 50 Jurong Gateway Road, with opening hours of 10am to 10pm daily.
A corner for Singapore labels
Level two held a space dedicated to local designers. Emerging labels Foreword and Pauline Ning were there, known for woven accessories and feminine pieces. The section also carried the diffusion lines of established Singapore names: Reckless Ericka, Sabrina Goh, A.W.O.L. and Saturday.
These secondary lines were pitched as more affordable versions of each designer’s signature look:
- Cruise by Saturday
- MU
- Light by Sabrina Goh
- Odds by Reckless Ericka
Prices for multi-wearable pieces from Odds ranged from S$39 to S$89 in 2013. For shoppers who did not yet know the local labels, the section worked as an easy introduction.
Robinsons Singapore’s managing director, Franz Kraatz, said at the opening that customers were ready for something new. He added that the store would keep supporting local talent while it refreshed its brand portfolio.
What happened next
The store did not last. Robinsons’s other Singapore branches were at The Heeren on Orchard Road and Raffles City Shopping Centre. The Jem store closed in August 2020. In a statement, the retailer said demand for large-scale department store concepts had weakened significantly, and pointed to online shopping and the effects of Covid-19.
On 30 October 2020, Robinsons announced that it had started liquidating its two remaining stores, at The Heeren and Raffles City. The business had begun in Singapore in 1858 as Spicer & Robinson.
The Jem branch therefore traded for about seven years after its June 2013 opening. Readers looking for the Singapore labels that were stocked there will need to look beyond Robinsons. Their current availability could not be confirmed here.