PROFILE

Singer

Q: How did you navigate the economic crisis?

A: The year 2022 was probably the toughest in recent history for the brand, company and entire consumer durables sector. Most of the market conditions were unfavourable – including import restrictions on electronic goods and home appliances; a sharp devaluation of the rupee, driving up costs; and severely impacted disposable incomes, which curtailed purchases of consumer durables.

The import restrictions and increased taxes on goods also created a flooding of the grey market with substandard products, devoid of warranty and at low price points. As a responsible brand, our greatest challenge was to comply fully with these restrictions and retain consumers who now had alternative options at lower prices.

We as a consumer-centric brand understood that amidst the high cost of living, there was a need to provide some relief to consumers. Therefore, we focused on Singer’s hire-purchase facility with affordable monthly schemes and relaunched our loyalty programme for some 2.2 million loyal customers, to retain and reward them.

Also, we focused more on our local manufacturing capabilities to drive sales of refrigerators, washing machines and furniture, ensuring consumer needs were met with high quality products in the face of import restrictions.

Q: What was the impact of the external environment on brands and branding?

A: The grey market thrived due to import restrictions and the imposition of higher import taxes, bringing cheaper alternatives into the market. Along with the high cost of living, this tempted consumers to purchase these substandard products.

Therefore, holding on to brand loyalty was a challenge. Brands need to be resilient, consistent and patient, and look more at the long term rather than compromising brand values in the face of such short-term external challenges.

Q: And what role can brand investments play in accelerating business recovery in the prevailing macroeconomic environment?

A: Singer sustained brand and consumer engagement, and digital marketing, without scal­ing down on advertising and promotional activity. We also launched our all new Singer RED Loyalty Programme, which is open to anyone who makes a purchase at Singer – through which each purchase earns RED points.

RED loyalty customers can begin enjoying exclusive benefits and customised offerings such as annual discounts on Singer products, special discounts on birthday months, winning chances for seasonal raffle draws and more. Members of the programme can also redeem RED points for purchases at any Singer showroom across the island or online.

Whilst this loyalty programme comes at a cost to the company in the short term, we prioritised the lifetime value of consumers and the importance of our relationship with them.

As a leading people’s brand that caters to all segments across the country, we felt it was our duty to provide some relief to consumers although it would mean taking a temporary financial hit.

We reduced our prices in the process, and increased discounts and promotions for consumers so that they didn’t have to compromise on getting the best products in a difficult period. As a brand, we saw this as an investment rather than a cost.

Q: How is the march of digitalisation impacting the consumer durables sector?

A: While we experienced an exponential shift to e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw many consumers shifting back to offline purchasing in 2022. Nevertheless, we stuck to our journey of digitalising the customer experience and moving to an omni-channel approach.

As a predominantly brick and mortar retailer, Singer adopted a hybrid strategy to bridge the physical and digital worlds, by placing digital screens in all physical outlets, to give them access to our e-commerce platform. This opened up many new possibilities.

The shop staff is equipped with a digital interface to interact, educate and engage with shoppers in the store. They can showcase and provide accurate information on the product; share specs; make comparisons; and importantly, place orders (directly to the consumer’s home or an outlet for pickup) if it is not physically available in the store, providing a seamless and better customer shopping experience.

This transformative shopping experience helps shape a future where customers feel truly seen, understood and valued – another milestone in our omni-channel strategy.

We continue to invest in digitally-led eco systems and have also embraced AI technology to cater to evolving consumers while keeping pace with global trends.

Telephone 4500500 | Email singer@singersl.com | Website www.singer.lk