SINGAPORE - Robinsons will begin its storewide sales on Friday (Nov 6) at its last two stores in Singapore at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre.

There will be a storewide discount on fashion, beauty, homeware, accessories and travel items.

"Everything has been reduced and must go... customers are encouraged to take advantage of these fantastic discounts while stocks last," Robinsons added.

A Robinsons spokesman said the sale would continue until all stocks were sold, and that new stock was still arriving as warehouses are being emptied.

The retailer's appointed liquidator, KordaMentha, which is looking into the closing of the two stores, hopes they will remain open for the coming weeks to facilitate final sales for customers.

In an online document answering customers' frequently asked questions, KordaMentha said that it was hopeful of executing a sale campaign until around the middle or end of next month.

The 162-year-old department store announced on Oct 30 the impending closure of its last two stores here, adding that the decision to liquidate was prompted by a range of factors, including changing consumer tastes and cost pressures such as rent.

Following Friday's announcement of Robinsons' closing-down sales, customers were seen queueing to enter the Heeren store, with a fast-moving queue of about 30 people in the early evening.

Engineer Lionel Lim, 25, was there to buy shirts. "I need shirts for upcoming occasions like Chinese New Year and Christmas... and I don't know when Robinsons would close," he said.

Some customers have raised concerns over mattresses they paid the retailer for but have yet to receive.

KordaMentha said on Thursday that customers who ordered Simmons, Sealy, Serta or King Koil mattresses from Robinsons and have paid in full can expect them to be delivered, as the suppliers will honour the purchases.

A fifth company, Mattress International (MaxCoil), said on Friday that it would also honour orders.

"We have... contacted all affected customers and have confirmed their deliveries without any additional charges regardless of their payment status to Robinsons," it said.

For customers who have made a deposit of $200 with Robinsons, MaxCoil will absorb the cost of the deposit and fulfil the order if the remaining balance is paid to the company, MaxCoil added.

KordaMentha said on Thursday that discussions with other mattress suppliers are ongoing and it will provide updates when they are available.

As at 4pm Thursday, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said that it has received 40 consumer complaints against Robinsons Singapore.

The total value of undelivered mattresses - based on complaints by Robinsons customers - exceeded $145,000.

Most of the complaints or 34 of them were from customers seeking a refund for or delivery of mattresses they had pre-paid Robinsons partially or in full for future delivery.

"Some of these consumers, who... bought the mattresses as early as November 2019, were informed that their mattresses will not be delivered on the scheduled delivery dates as Robinsons had gone into liquidation," said Case executive director Loy York Jiun.

Five other complaints were related to changes in the use of Robinsons vouchers, which can now be used only if the customer spends at least twice the value of the vouchers, said a document on KordaMentha's website.

One customer is seeking a refund on her Robinsons gift card as she claimed there was nothing left in the store for her to buy.

Case said that consumers who had paid by credit card and wished to get back their pre-payments or deposits could file chargeback requests with their banks within 120 days of the transaction.

- Additional reporting by Ang Qing