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By Tessa Wong and Jessica Lim
SOME fashion-conscious shoppers are more budget-conscious now, which is good news for retailers of lower-priced clothes and accessories.
At the top of the pile is low-cost fashion paradise, This Fashion, which has 69 stores, including those under the This Budget Outlet, Coax and Alano banners.
These stores offer trendy workwear and accessories from $10 to $40. They had between five and 10 per cent more business in September and last month than in these two months last year.
Expressing optimism for the coming months, its accounting manager Albert Choong said: 'Like everyone else, we expect a drop after the Chinese New Year, but we will still do well because we are a low-priced, mass-market retailer.'
Indeed, some outlets of mid-priced fashion retailers Iora, G2000 and Aldo had no growth in sales last month or even a dip by 10 per cent. And as the end-of-year party season nears, the fashion- and label-conscious are renting luxury items instead of buying them.
Online businesses that have done better lately include Be-A-Fashionista.com and Thatbagiwant.com. The latter rents out designer bags, charging customers by the week for the period of loan. Membership sign-ups tripled briefly at Thatbagiwant.com last month, not long after the Government's announcement that Singapore had gone into a technical recession, said website owner Tan Ho Ching.
As industry players have predicted, shoppers will continue shopping but may cut back or switch to cheaper options.
For example, Ms Sharon Loo, 29, is rethinking her indulgence in two luxury bags a year. A new member of Thatbagiwant.com, she now rents Louis Vuitton bags for $100 for two weeks each time. She said: 'I like changing bags frequently, and this is a more affordable option.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on November 26, 2008.
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