Newstead close shop

[cscs3]

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/after-19-years-business-homegrown-it-retailer-newstead-goes-liquidation?cid=TODAY#.W7s0UEJKi6o.whatsapp

Seem Suntec branch and branches in Sim Lim is affected.

 

[Phen8210]

newstead is what?

 

[wtfh4x]

Full story:

SINGAPORE — Homegrown IT and electronics retailer Newstead Technologies is winding up its business after 19 years, and its troubles could leave Funan DigitalLife Mall without an anchor tenant when it reopens next year.
The company, which operates under the Newstead, DigitalStyle and Nubox brands, has been put under liquidation, according to a notice put up on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) website last week.


The retailer's Facebook page said it manages over 15 retail outlets islandwide.
TODAY's attempts to reach out to Newstead's senior management over the weekend went unanswered, while the staff at the company's headquarters at City Square Mall were tight-lipped and refused comment when approached on Monday (Oct 8).
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It is unclear how the company came to this position, but TODAY has also reached out to its provisional liquidator from Acres Advisory, and CapitaLand — which owns Funan mall — for comments.
The Straits Times reported last year that Newstead was slated to be Funan's largest IT anchor, with multiple concept stores spread across 15,000 sq ft, when the mall reopens in the second quarter of 2019.
The old mall, which closed in July 2016, has been undergoing a S$560 million renovation to turn it into a "creative hub".

STORES IN SIM LIM SQUARE SHUTTERED SINCE LAST WEDNESDAY
Founded in 1999, Newstead started off with shops at Sim Lim Square and the old Funan DigitalLife Mall, before expanding to Marina Square, Nex, Suntec City and Jurong Point.
It became a household name for IT and electronics, and scooped up several small- and medium-sized enterprise awards. At the height of its business, it had over 40 outlets.
Apart from the Newstead brand, the company is also behind Apple reseller Nubox, lifestyle retail concept store DigitalStyle, and computer repair service @notebook.com.
Based on the company's Facebook page, it runs four Newstead shops, one DigitalStyle store, and 10 Nubox outlets. It is unclear how many @notebook repair shops the firm has.
When TODAY visited the Newstead and @notebook shops in Sim Lim Square on Sunday, only one of the several outlets there was open.
TODAY spoke to an employee who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim working in the remaining outlet on Level Two.
The 25-year-old said the company's manager "delivered news that the company was in trouble" last Friday.
"He told us that the other stores in Sim Lim will be closed for good. For us, we have to be prepared, and we're living one day at a time," said Mr Lim, who has been working for Newstead the last five years.
However, he added that he did not probe further about the company's troubles, and was only told that the company's accounts were being looked into.
All the other outlets — operating under several brand names — in Sim Lim Square have been shuttered since Wednesday, according to staff working at neighbouring stores.
An employee from Atrix, a laptop store located opposite the Newstead outlets on Level Four, said: "On Tuesday night, the employees (who worked on the fourth floor) were gathered and told that their stores would be closed the next day. They were let go then."
There were "about 10 to 20" staff affected by the shuttered outlets in Sim Lim Square, added the Atrix employee who declined to be named.
The Newstead store at Suntec City was similarly closed on Sunday, while a notice posted at the shopfront of the outlet at Marina Square stated "cessation of business".

STILL BUSINESS AS USUAL AT NEX, JURONG POINT
The Newstead outlets at Nex mall in Serangoon and Jurong Point, however, remain in operation as of Monday, when TODAY visited.
Mr Kenny Ong, a supervisor at the Newstead outlet at Nex, said that they were told their shop — staffed by nine employees — would be "safe".
"I'm just thankful we have our jobs, I didn't ask further," he said, adding that a manager had visited the store last Friday.
"We were told we'll continue operations as per normal. We're not worried," he added.
Over at Jurong Point, the DigitalStyle store was displaying "clearance sales" signs, with discounts of up to 50 per cent offered for selected items.
When TODAY approached employees, they said they were "just trying to purge extra stock" and maintained that it was "business as usual".
One female employee, who declined to be named, said that the Jurong Point outlet employs "more than 10 staff".

NUBOX 'UNAFFECTED': STAFF
The Nubox outlets appear to be unaffected for now.
When TODAY approached employees at Nubox at City Square Mall, they declined comment.
Over at the Nubox branch in Jurong Point, one employee who identified himself as an "intern" said: "When I met with the managers last month to settle my internship, there was no sign that the company was in trouble."
Consumers interviewed said they were not surprised at the company's woes, given the competition from online IT retailers.
Mr Bernard Lip, a 28-year-old sales executive who bought a harddisk from a Newstead outlet some three years ago, said: "It's cheaper to buy online nowadays, so I wouldn't be surprised if these stores cannot survive."
Mr Eric Chen, a 30-year-old commercial photographer, said he has not bought any IT or tech gadgets from a physical store in the last five years. "There is also a lot more discounts and promotions if you buy online," he said.

 

[lifeishard]

"Mr Bernard Lip, a 28-year-old sales executive who bought a harddisk from a Newstead outlet some three years ago, said: "It's cheaper to buy online nowadays, so I wouldn't be surprised if these stores cannot survive."
Mr Eric Chen, a 30-year-old commercial photographer, said he has not bought any IT or tech gadgets from a physical store in the last five years. "There is also a lot more discounts and promotions if you buy online," he said."

Not surprised lor, even distro also go online to undercut its retailers...tsk tsk...but i'm not complaining as a consumer

 

[cscs3]

Well, one should remember how Nested do business with tricks.

Many has bad encounter with them anyway.

 

[Entry Level PC]

Boh firesale?

 

[zuoom]

New becomes old.

 

[Shion]

Like finally lol

 

[jtjt00]

This adds to the woes of Sim Lim Sqaure, already a ghost building.

 

[_DeS__]

This adds to the woes of Sim Lim Sqaure, already a ghost building.

No need scared, alot ah tiongs ready to come in anytime.

 

[superhero41]

waiting for sales now

Sent from 下水海底捞月 using 鱼缸里 HardwareZone Forums app

 

[Ark Law]

This adds to the woes of Sim Lim Sqaure, already a ghost building.

Mai fear, ATB and jiuhukias will come in open more mobile accessories, android box and remax shops. **** will open more refurbished/recycled laptop shops

 

[dryteletubby]

This adds to the woes of Sim Lim Sqaure, already a ghost building.

Sim lim square seems to be better off selling niche stuff like refillable printer inks, electrical and network cables and other random stuff that people would want to take a look first before buying

 

[ondooy]

where to buy ?

 

[watzup_ken]

It is truly no surprise. In fact it will be surprising for their survival. Competition is already tough, but now with online shopping, the laptop manufacturers themselves are selling directly to consumers without having to go through a third party. In fact, I do feel that they expanded too much with brick and mortar shops sales declining. Those Apple stores are clearly in trouble as well since most just go in to look, but don't buy. Not too mention that there are simply too many of them.

 

[narkizy]

It is truly no surprise. In fact it will be surprising for their survival. Competition is already tough, but now with online shopping, the laptop manufacturers themselves are selling directly to consumers without having to go through a third party. In fact, I do feel that they expanded too much with brick and mortar shops sales declining. Those Apple stores are clearly in trouble as well since most just go in to look, but don't buy. Not too mention that there are simply too many of them.

Plus online is usually alot cheaper than the local brick and mortar outlets. The fact that SG alr sells electronics imported from the US with a steep markup alr makes things worse for local retailers who sell online(Lazada etc.), let alone brick and mortar retailers. Just wait, soon Best Denki and Harvey Norman will follow suit and shut their laptop/electronics sections when more and more Singaporeans start to wake up and smell the crappy smelly truth that many SG local retailers have been ripping them off for decades LOL.

Simple example is SSDs. Minus the local warranty, I can easily get a 512GB WD Black NVME m.2 SSD for 190 SGD. The same one sold on Lazada or local? 300 SGD. Fat hope getting it that cheap locally. Local retailers better wake up and smell the incoming crap before Amazon/Newegg bankrupts them lol.

The sole reason Aftershock can survive so long in this competitive scene(fingers crossed they can still survive for years to come) is because their pricing is so competitive even against online international retailers like Amazon and major brands. Other local retailers can either learn from AS to stop being so greedy and price their stuff properly or well, go bankrupt.

 

[Tan Gee Ming]

This adds to the woes of Sim Lim Sqaure, already a ghost building.

i went there on a sunday night and there are only 1 person and me buying things from fuwell shop.

 

[noobishyang]

https://newsteadretail.com.sg
https://www.hachi.tech - this is challenger
https://www.courts.com.sg
https://www.harveynorman.com.sg
https://www.bestdenki.com.sg

One retail space one month 5-6 digits, plus staff cost don't know how much, might as well sell online. Anyway nowadays buy from Amazon so convenient, fast and safe. Retail is dead business.

 

[narkizy]

https://newsteadretail.com.sg
https://www.hachi.tech - this is challenger
https://www.courts.com.sg
https://www.harveynorman.com.sg
https://www.bestdenki.com.sg

One retail space one month 5-6 digits, plus staff cost don't know how much, might as well sell online. Anyway nowadays buy from Amazon so convenient, fast and safe. Retail is dead business.

Not to mention Amazon has a top notch returns policy and cust svc that local online retailers cant even compare to.

 

[noobishyang]

Not to mention Amazon has a top notch returns policy and cust svc that local online retailers cant even compare to.

Yeah, and PC hardware price is lower in US, we only need to pay the 7% GST, whereas if local business import the parts in, they pass the 7% GST to us and also take a premium, end up price higher than Amazon. I wonder how local PC/parts business going to survive. SLS one good example, deadmeat.