Heartland shops must keep up with new business trends: Desmond Lee

More than 2,800 residents, shopkeepers, workers and business leaders have shared their ideas on how to keep heartland shops relevant through the Heartland Shops Study, with the Government studying the feedback in detail, and due to release its findings and recommendations in the coming months.

National Development Minister Desmond Lee said at the Singapore Heartland Enterprise Summit yesterday that some have suggested more support for these shops in the area of digitalisation, marketing, and placemaking events so they can become livelier and more productive.

Launched last year, the study sought to gather views from Singaporeans on how these shops can innovate and yet retain their unique characteristics.

Mr Lee said that while Covid-19 has impacted heartland shops in the last two years, these businesses will have to face the challenge of adapting to new business trends beyond the pandemic as shoppers' preferences change.

He added: "More shoppers are also turning to e-commerce, or may prefer more modern shopping malls. Our heartland shops have to keep up with these trends, and remain lively and relevant."

Heartland shops play a special role in local communities, such as by helping to forge strong social bonds in neighbourhoods, and providing jobs for seniors and others who need to work near their homes, he added.

While adapting to new business environments may not be easy, some heartland shops have been successful and have even scaled up internationally.

One example is Old Chang Kee, which started out in 1956 as a small stall in a coffee shop in Mackenzie Road near Rochor.

Today, the brand has grown into a household name, with stores islandwide selling curry puffs and other snacks. It also has outlets in London, Jakarta and Perth.

"They did this by investing in new systems and production facilities, along with fresh marketing strategies to keep pace with consumer trends - all while maintaining the quality of their signature curry puffs," said Mr Lee, adding that there are also other local brands that have managed to scale up, such as SK Jewellery and Heng Foh Tong Medical Hall.

Others have embarked on new and exciting business concepts, such as the niche Just Ants, a one-stop shop in Yishun that was started in 2017 and is dedicated to ant-keeping needs.

Federation of Merchants' Associations Singapore (FMAS) president Yeo Hiang Meng said the association is encouraging business owners to be open to changing their business models, adding that this is not easy for heartland enterprises, as most of them are small businesses.

Other initiatives like workshops and learning trips have also been organised by FMAS to help heartland enterprises improve their capabilities, such as by using social media.

FMAS is the organiser of the Singapore Heartland Enterprise Summit, with Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News as the co-organiser.

The event, which was held at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh, also gave awards to six winning student teams from the Heartland Innovation Challenge, a three-month programme where tertiary students, merchant associations and heartland enterprises work together to generate new business ideas.