FJ Benjamin navigates the new normal

AFTER more than two months of shuttered stores, and with consumers around the world observing social distancing and stay home orders amid the Covid-19 pandemic, retailers are scrambling to adapt. FJ Benjamin (FJB), one of Asia's biggest retail brand management groups and distributors of luxury and lifestyle brands, is no different.

When Singapore and the world did the unprecedented and shut borders to stem the spread of the virus, they inevitably slammed shut access to one of the biggest forces in global luxury spending: mainland Chinese consumers.

"It has been tough weathering the epidemic, and we are waiting to reopen," Nash Benjamin, chief executive officer of the Singapore-based company, told The Business Times (BT) in a virtual interview earlier this week.