FJB's senior management takes 70% pay cut, seeks S$39m cash call

Singapore

IN a move that reflects the tough times facing retailers here, the senior management of one of Singapore's prominent luxury fashion retailers, FJ Benjamin (FJB), has taken a further 40 per cent pay cut on top of an earlier 30 per cent to speed up its recovery.

The loss-making retailer, which has been on the Singapore Exchange watch-list since December 2016 for sustaining pre-tax losses for more than three consecutive financial years, is also looking to raise up to S$39 million via a rights cum warrants issue - its first fund raiser since 2002. FJB has a three-year deadline from Dec 5, 2016 to meet SGX's listing requirements if it wants to stay listed.

According to calculations by The Business Times, the pay cuts may be more symbolic than significant for the group founded by Frank Benjamin in 1959 and which has since evolved to become a major retailer of iconic brands like Gap, Banana Republic, Céline, Givenchy, Guess, Loewe and Marc Jacobs. Today, FJB boasts of 30 stores in Singapore, 76 stores in Mala…