Rocking on despite Singapore’s killer rents

IN THE mid-2000s, a brick-and-mortar record store could still be a sustainable business, as local music retailer Straits Records discovered in its Haji Lane shophouse space.

But that is no longer the case as “over the years, the rent increased quite a lot”, says founder Ridhwan Ghany.

When the lease came up for renewal in 2007 at nearly double the rent, Ridhwan decided to move to a more affordable shophouse unit on nearby Bali Lane. But rents kept going up.