Tower Records, the first major music store in Singapore, has
ended nearly 13 years of business here with the closure of its
outlet at Suntec City.
The chain, which was launched in California in 1960 and pioneered
the music mega store concept, came to Singapore in 1993 with the
launch of Tower Records' flagship store at Pacific Plaza. It later
expanded to three outlets.
However, TODAY learned on Wednesday that the Suntec outlet had
given each of its employees the equivalent of one month's salary on
Tuesday and told them it was ceasing operations. Said one of the
employees, Mr Masni Mohamed Alias: "We were informed that the store
would be closing because the music retail business is not good.
We'd expected it because sales haven't been good for awhile."
Mr Richie Hayashi of Icicle Music, a distributor of CDs to Tower
Records, confirmed the store's closure. "We have dealt with Tower
Records and now they are closed," he said. "But, contrary to
rumours that they closed because they can't pay their suppliers, we
have had no such problems."
The chain, which had more than 170 outlets worldwide at its peak in
the 1980s, saw business decline in recent years in the face of
competition from online retailers and discounters such as
Wal-Mart.
Two years ago, the company filed for bankruptcy in the United
States. It had earlier sold its operations in Singapore to
Malaysia's Motion Planet Worldwide in 2003. Calls to Motion Planet
Worldwide for comment on the closure went unanswered.
Industry insiders were not surprised at Tower's departure from
Singapore. Said Mr Lim Teck Kheng, marketing director of record
company Universal Music: "Tower is a brand name but unfortunately
(the new management) didn't capitalise on that."
Consumers, who had more choices when HMV and Borders joined Towers
Records in the Singapore market in 1997, were nonetheless saddened
by the closure. Said music fan Azhari Yusof, 33, a logistics
officer: "It was a great place to hang out. In the days before the
online shops and the Internet, that was where we got to hear the
freshest music and read the latest magazines. Tower Records was
definitely a memorable place to any music fan." - TODAY/fa
