S'pore to lure back shoppers through sale event

JAKARTA (JP): Singapore will launch what it bills as the biggest-ever shopping event for one month starting in the middle of next month to bolster its retail sector which has increasingly been hurt by keener competition from other tourist destinations.

The Great Singapore Sale will open on July 14 with a vast array of discounts, special promotions and exhibitions, Hassan Kassim, a public relations officer of the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board announced yesterday.

"During the sale, discounts are likely to be up to 80 percent on goods ranging from international fashion name brands to local products," Kassim said in a press release.

The sale promotion will be held only a few weeks after the announcement of the finding of a survey which showed that foreign visitors found shopping in Singapore more expensive than in their home countries.

The survey conducted by the Singapore Press Holdings concluded that 50 percent of the 610 tourists interviewed at the Changi airport considered shopping in the island republic more expensive than in their home countries. Only 30 percent of the respondents said shopping in Singapore was cheaper while the other 20 percent saw the prices as about the same as in their home countries.

Kassim acknowledged that the strong Singapore dollar and rising labor costs have contributed to the perception of Singapore being an expensive city.

"But shopping in Singapore is still very attractive for a variety of reasons including the wide range of goods available, the comforts and convenience for shoppers and world-class facilities," he contended.

More than 30 department stores and shopping centers will offer price discounts ranging from 30 to 80 percent even for major brand-name products such as Christian Dior, Nina Ricci, Hermes, Bally and Loewe, according to Kassim.

Kassim said shopping remains one of the most popular activities for visitors, including those from Indonesia.

"But the attraction for our repeat visitors is that it is ever changing and there is always something new to see and do," he added, citing Fantasy Island, the new festivals of Singapore Museum and a wide variety of other family attractions as some of the new attractions.

He said last year's inaugural Great Singapore Sale had laid the groundwork for an annual event to promote Singapore's reputation as a shoppers' paradise with a vast range of stores and boutiques, a variety of quality merchandise and service standards to match the world's elite shopping cities.

Kassim said during the Great Sale period last year that tourist arrivals from ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, increased by 22.5 percent from the same months in 1993.

"Judging from last year's performance, I am optimistic that the second Great Sale in July and August will get another positive response from our ASEAN visitors," Kassim said.(vin)