Great Singapore Sale won't be scrapped, but longtime organiser will become 'just a coordinating partner’

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) will not scrap the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) it has organised for nearly 30 years.

But going forward, the trade body will act only as a “coordinating partner”, said SRA president Ernie Koh.

During a media briefing on Monday (Sep 18), Mr Koh said the SRA had previously organised the GSS “quite extensively”, with activities such as an Orchard Road fashion parade.

But starting from 2024, the association "will announce the date and be just a coordinating partner", he said.

"Whoever as a retailer wants to come in together, we (are) just coordinating (for them). There (will be) no activities for us as a retail association for the Great Singapore Sale."

On this role as a coordinator, Mr Koh said it meant that SRA could not “invest” in the GSS in terms of marketing campaigns, but it will still welcome sponsors and “do a bit of social media” for the event. 

NOT SCRAPPING GSS

The return of GSS this year had appeared to be up in the air, with the annual sale extravaganza not listed on SRA’s calendar of events for 2023.

Since beginning as a month-long event in 1994, the GSS had been a hotly anticipated affair. But it started losing its lustre in the early 2010s due to shifts in the retail landscape brought about by e-commerce.

During the pandemic years, GSS incorporated livestreaming, virtual showrooms and a partnership with online shopping platform Lazada.

Last year's was a hybrid event with deals available both online and offline.

On Monday, Mr Koh confirmed that SRA "did not announce" the GSS for 2023, although it took place from June to September.

Mr Koh said SRA had discussed the GSS internally and come to the realisation that there were many platforms for the event, such as Lazada and Shopee. 

“Every platform has the sale going on. So as a retailer association, we decided … we will announce the date of the GSS and then let the Singapore retailers automatically continue with their sale,” Mr Koh said. 

"The reason why we did not scrap (the GSS) is because the (voices) of the retailers are quite strong," the SRA president noted.

“Some of them want it, some of them don’t want it. So, those (who) want it, we say okay, let's continue with it," he said.

Mr Koh also said SRA did not announce this year’s GSS as it was involved in another initiative known as the Wunderground Festival, which involves collaborations between various companies.