Ashford W. Meikle, Staff Reporter
The new Singer superstore located at 21 Constant Spring Road. The store opened its doors to the public yesterday. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
FURNITURE RETAILER Singer Stores yesterday opened a massive store on Constant Spring Road in the heart of the Half-Way Tree shopping district.
The new store at 21 Constant Spring Road is located on the premises of a former branch of the National Commercial Bank and covers some 15,000 square feet.
"It's our biggest store. We've relocated our store in the Springs to this location," said general manager of Singer Jamaica Limited, Sharon Spence. The general manager told Wednesday Business, "It was important that we get a flagship store for Kingston. In
the past, when people saw our stores in Kingston they might ask if that is all Singer is about."
ISLANDWIDE RENOVATION
Spence said the Constant Spring Road location is "a continuation of an islandwide renovation which started two years ago."
Singer Jamaica Ltd., the retail business of Singer N.V. in Jamaica, was sold to AON International Inc. for a total consideration of approximately US$8.5 million in June. AON International Inc. is a privately owned wholesale distributor of consumer durables throughout the Caribbean which had previously acquired Singer's retail business in Guyana.
Singer N.V. is a holding company with an interest in Singer Asia, the company's only continuing operating business. Singer N.V. sold its sewing business and trademark last year to KSIN Holdings Ltd.
Singer Jamaica operates 18 retail stores in Jamaica that sell a broad range of consumer durable products for the home, including furniture, with consumer credit available to qualified customers. Singer Jamaica had revenues of approximately US$20.1 million in 2004.
The Port Antonio store was relocated and, most recently, the Brown's Town store. New branches have also been opened in Junction, St. Elizabeth, and Angels in St Catherine. The Cross Roads, Linstead and Santa Cruz branches have also been expanded and renovated.
Importantly, Singer, according to Spence, will maintain the current image building and expansion drive as it seeks to enhance customer service and satisfaction across its branch network. It is what she calls the "new face of Singer."
"Our aim is to deliver the highest standard of products and service in attractive surroundings." With this in mind the store features a home theatre room called 'The Vault' which showcases plasma and projection TVs as well as the home theatre technology. As well there is a play area for children under the supervision of a childcare professional.
With another store in the nearby Village Plaza, Singer is no stranger to the Constant Spring Road area. But, it appears that the new store is aimed directly at its competitors - Courts, Karmen Brown's Furniture Land, and International Furniture and Accessories - all located along the busy Constant Spring Road stretch.
Spence admitted that, "We're going a little more up market ? we're offering more high end products. We will be targeting our core customers as well as people who may not have shopped with us before."
However, the store in nearby Village Plaza - with its particular niche market - will remain open. "People thought when we opened the Springs stores we would have cannibalisation of our customer base but it did not happen. And we don't expect it to happen with this store," said Spence.
Singer is up against the formidable Courts Jamaica, which has a 27 store network to back up its massive financial and marketing strengths.
The Singer executive argues that "Over the past several years we've changed our marketing focus - as you can now see, our colours are now brighter. This is where the market is going. We're changing with market. It is saying to the customer, 'we have a new image, new direction; we have a variety of products regardless of your station in life there is something.' "
As to the plethora of appliance and furniture stores in the area, the general manager remarked, "we are not concerned about the competition. We're aware of it, we're cognisant of it. But we emphasise to our customer service representatives the importance of treating the customer right ."
