Naiise to shutter Paya Lebar store this weekend

MULTI-LABEL lifestyle and design retailer Naiise will close its store at Paya Lebar Quarter this weekend following a lease expiry, The Business Times (BT) has learnt.

The last day of operation for this outlet is July 26, a company spokesperson confirmed in an emailed response on Wednesday.

Last week, BT reported that Naiise had prematurely withdrawn as the operator of Design Orchard's retail showcase with the Textile and Fashion Federation set to take over the role on Aug 1. This comes after a series of cost-cutting measures, which included halving its headcount earlier this year.

As at January, Naiise had six brick-and-mortar stores in Singapore and Malaysia.

With the closure at Paya Lebar Quarter, the retailer is left with one store at Jewel Changi Airport, as well as an office and retail shop in Kuala Lumpur.

The spokesperson told BT that the firm does not have intentions to close its remaining stores "at the moment".

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She added that there are "no plans to open physical stores anytime soon", as the company will be focusing on efforts to build its online store presence.

In January, BT reported that years of repeated late payments had led to several brands removing some or all of their products from its shelves. Frustrated vendors told BT that they were each owed amounts ranging from hundreds of dollars to five-digit figures from their goods sold at Naiise.

The firm later apologised, citing a "tight cash flow situation" due to unexpected delays in payments due to it.

BT also reported last month that Amanda Eng, the wife of Naiise founder Dennis Tay, had stepped down from her role as chief marketing and buying officer at Naiise to join e-commerce platform Shopee.

Asked about the payment delays, Naiise told BT in June that the company had built a "self-served marketplace business model" that was launched on its website Naiise.com. The new model enables sellers to receive their earnings instantly once a customer makes a successful online purchase on the website, the company said.

As at end-June, the Singapore-headquartered company managed some 600 brands in Singapore and internationally.