Landlords will become kingmakers; and local brands could benefit

Joan Ng

Published Thu, May 7, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

JOSH Leong, co-founder of local shoemaker Palola, moved his business to CityLink Mall in January, just weeks before the authorities began implementing increasingly tough measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Mr Leong said he wrote to his landlord after the "circuit breaker" measures kicked in to ask for assistance. But the only responses he received were circulars sent to all tenants.

So, he turned to Palola's customers, appealing to them to make advance purchases of made-to-order shoes in order to help it generate much needed cash flow. The response, according to Mr Leong, has been "overwhelming".

The recent experience of Mr Leong and his homegrown shoemaking outfit casts interesting light on questions about how much help beleaguered ret…