Media & Accolades
The Business Times: Heartland Shops Get Visual Makeovers
New look, new growth. Over 200 heartland stores have refreshed their store layouts after taking up the Visual Merchandising programme by Enterprise Singapore and Heartland Enterprise Centre Singapore (HECS), and seen their footfall and sales rise by about 20%. The programme has now been enhanced to support a higher qualifying project cost and include greater emphasis on consultancy.
Find out more through Soon Lee Heng Fresh Fruits, MS Color and Heng Foh Tong’s experience: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/singapore/smes/heartland-shops-get-visual-makeover
Two years ago, a passerby could have mistaken traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hall Heng Foh Tong for a minimart. Goods such as shampoo and washing detergent filled the shopfront — threatening to overshadow its TCM offerings, said Heng Foh Tong vice-president Lee Chin Siong.
He embarked on his plans to revamp the 66-year-old family business after participating in the Visual Merchandising programme in October 2021. New wooden flooring, lighting and a modern signboard were installed. Inside, Lee emulated health and beauty retail chains, arranging products by category and installing lightbox signage. Outside, old-school red baskets and racks were replaced with drawers, allowing customers to “easily assess what’s on offer”.
Best-selling products — confinement herbs and Heng Foh Tong’s own range of herbal drinks — are now displayed front and centre. Said Lee: “TCM can be very intimidating to a younger generation and they generally don’t know what you’re selling. That’s why we wanted to display our key products prominently.”
TCM and non-TCM offerings are clearly separated. “Now visually at a glance, you know that we’re a TCM shop. The look is a lot cleaner and modern; newer customers find it easier to walk in, explore the shop and find things on their own.”
Since the revamp in May 2022, the Bukit Batok shop has seen a 10 per cent increase in footfall and sales year on year, and attracted a younger crowd, said Lee.
Source: The Business Times | Published on May 03, 2023
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