AMANDA Eng is no longer the chief marketing and buying officer of multi-label lifestyle and design retailer Naiise, The Business Times (BT) has learnt.

She is the wife of Naiise founder Dennis Tay, who continues to be involved in the management of the company. Ms Eng's LinkedIn profile shows that she is now part of the regional marketing team at e-commerce platform Shopee.

In response to BT's queries on Friday, Mr Tay said that Ms Eng stepped down from her duties at Naiise on May 4 this year.

"She has proceeded to venture out to pursue other options for her career," he added.

Although she is not a co-founder, Ms Eng has been with Naiise since the company started, and held the role of chief marketing and buying director since 2017, Mr Tay said in an emailed reply.

Ms Eng does not hold any shares in Naiise; the company has been solely owned by Mr Tay since its incorporation.

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Separately, BT reported in January that years of repeated late payments led to several brands removing some or all of their products from Naiise's shelves in Singapore and Malaysia.

Asked about the payment delays, the company said on Friday: "We understand that our previous business models, payment terms and lack of automation are not the most optimal model for our partners and brands."

As a result, in the past few months, the company has built a "self-served marketplace business model" that was recently launched on its website Naiise.com.

The new model allows its sellers to receive their earnings instantly once a customer makes a successful online purchase on the website, Naiise told BT on Friday. This will "solve the issue of monthly sales tabulation, reconciliation and manpower", and give sellers more control over their product listings, inventory and business operations, it added.

"We believe this will close the gap of long payment terms between Naiise and our partners."

The company is working with its current brands to transfer them to the new model, and plans to bring on new sellers.

Naiise has been focusing more on its online presence since Singapore's "circuit breaker" was announced in April, to ensure customers still can access the products from home.

"Our team is committed to ensuring that our business carries on through this difficult situation and we are doing our best to help our sellers grow," Mr Tay said.

As at Friday, Naiise manages some 600 brands in Singapore and internationally. In Singapore, it operates one store at Jewel Changi Airport and a pop-up store at Paya Lebar Quarter. The company also has an office and a retail shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.