Ask any makeup or beauty enthusiast who grew up in Singapore in the ’90s and 2000s, and they probably would have bought products from Sasa.
The Hong Kong cosmetics retailer, which was popular among students and folks on a budget, had a significant presence here back then.
However, in late 2019, Sasa Singapore abruptly announced the closure of all of its 22 physical stores in the country.
Since then, it has only been operating here on an online basis.
A little over three years since it closed physical stores here, Hong Kong beauty chain Sasa is said to be planning its return to Singapore sometime this year.
But don’t expect to see as many outlets as there used to be, though. According to Bloomberg, the chain will be taking a more conservative approach to its reopening, with only one or two stores in popping up in Singapore this year.
In December 2019, Sasa shuttered all 22 of its physical stores across the island as it failed to turn a profit. Up until that point, Sasa had reportedly been suffering losses for six years straight.
Despite attempts to improve its business back then, sales were still not good enough to keep it afloat. About 170 employees were affected.
Today, Sasa is slowly and carefully recalibrating its business model in its home country of Hong Kong. Its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Danny Ho told Bloomberg that it might take up to 2026 for sales to go back to how it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: Sasa Singapore on Facebook
Before the pandemic, 70% of Sasa’s sales were apparently from tourists. However, the CFO is predicting that the percentage of tourist revenue will drop to 60% henceforth. This is despite more borders opening up around the world.
Besides Singapore, Sasa also reportedly plans to open more stores in Hong Kong, Macau, and Malaysia.
Between five to seven stores across Hong Kong and Macau will be opened, on top of the existing 80 stores.
Adding to Malaysia’s 71 stores, more will be opened as the retailer expects to see a post-pandemic jump in tourists.
MS News has reached out to Sasa Singapore for comments. We’ll update the article if they get back.
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Featured image adapted from Sasa Singapore on Facebook.
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