COURTS gives its store a makeover, heads online

COURTS Singapore has redesigned its flagship megastore in Tampines in a bid to create a more immersive store experience for its customers, slated for opening on 11 November 2017. The move is part of the retailer’s recent SG$10 million investment into a series of store refurbishments, a press statement read.Together with the store makeover, COURTS Singapore also unveiled its newly relaunched online store to make the online to offline store experience for customers more seamless for an “omni-channel reach”. The statement added that its webstore is the “largest in COURTS’ store network to date”, and boasts better navigation and faster check out experiences with options for in-store collection.(Read also: IKEA (finally!) launches e-commerce store in Singapore)To promote the new store, the retailer is launching its “Better Living, Better Prices” brand campaign to showcase its price promise to make good living accessible and affordable for homeowners. This will culminate in a four-week-long celebration that begins after the store opening. The campaign will feature celebrities such as Sing! China second-runner up Joanna Dong, Running Man star Kim Jong Kook and sports stars such as Arsenal and Liverpool footballers and boxing champion Muhamad Ridhwan.The new megastore aims to be an “aspirational hub featuring the latest in-store experiences”. This will include new retail concepts and experiential areas create innovative touchpoints for shoppers who want to learn more or interact hands-on. Other new additions to the store include eating areas such as a café and a Subway for shoppers and more customisable and personalised furniture offerings.It also boasts a design studio, more dynamic showroom spaces, cooking demonstration stations, smarthome experiences by Samsung and an LG home entertainment area. COURTS also created a new gaming zone to cater to the growing gaming segment, the press statement added.[gallery link="file" ids="201971,201975,201974,201973"]“The COURTS Megastore transformation is the result of a year of planning and two months of ongoing renovation work, combining the expertise of the commercial, visual merchandising and store operations teams to respond resoundingly to what today’s modern apartment owner desires from shopping for their home,” Ben Tan, country CEO of COURTS Singapore, said.The company recently made a net profit of SG$6.1 million for the first quarter, which ended on 30 June 2017, compared to SG$8.8 million in Q1 FY 2016-2017. This is coupled with an increase in the company’s distribution and marketing expenses by 0.5% to SG$16.2 million in Q1 FY 2017-2018. Meanwhile, plans for the SG$10 million revamp of seven of its outlets in Singapore first emerged in August. This began with an “overhaul” of its Tampines flagship megastore.Earlier this year, COURTS Singapore appointed Jasmine Seow as merchandise director to drive the company’s commercial strategies and bolster COURTS’ merchandise and services in the new financial year. She continues to report to Tan. Prior to her new role, Seow was marketing director for around three years.