‘Building the next sunrise’: Metro pivots to global tie-ups, immersive concept stores to woo shoppers

[SINGAPORE] With shrinking margins, weaker spending and rising operating costs, retail has often been written off as a sunset industry in Singapore – especially after household-name department stores such as Robinsons exited the market, and Isetan and BHG Singapore downsized.

Metro views things differently.

“We see it as a sunrise industry. Every retailer is going through the same challenges, and the objective for us is building resilience,” Erwin Wuysang-Oei, chief operating officer (COO) of Metro’s retail arm, told The Business Times.