Tom & Stefanie down to three stores from 10 as founders' daughter aims to keep business going

The founders’ daughter, who is also named Stefanie and grew up helping out at the family’s stores, says she wants to keep the business going for longtime staff who have been with the company for almost 20 years.

Stefanie Chua's parents opened their first Tom & Stefanie store 32 years ago, and the current SMU student said she grew up in their shops. (Photo: Mediacorp)

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Remember Tom & Stefanie? Earlier this year, the homegrown children's store announced that its Hillion Mall outlet was closing after six years, citing rising rental costs.

Now, the 32-year-old family business has shuttered another outlet, this time at Tiong Bahru Plaza.

At its peak, Tom & Stefanie had 10 stores across Singapore. Following the Tiong Bahru closure, it's down to just three.

But if founders Tom and Stefanie's daughter, who is also named Stefanie, has anything to say about it, the family business isn't going anywhere just yet.

And keeping her parents' legacy alive isn't her only motivation. Stefanie Chua is also thinking about the longtime employees who have been around long enough to watch her grow up.

In an episode of Mediacorp's Gen Z Crash Course, Chua was asked why she felt it was important to keep the business going despite the challenges it faces.

Her answer got surprisingly emotional.

"Yeah, so I think one of the reasons is because a lot of these store staff have been with us for almost 20 years, so they have actually seen us grow up over the years," she said.

"So, if we were to have to let them go, I think it would be just very sad because I think they would be unable to find employment elsewhere because of their age. And so I feel like it's important for me to continue to keep up this store."

When Yes 933 DJ and host Chen Qijia pointed out that continuing the family legacy was a huge burden on Chua's shoulders, the university student became visibly emotional.

And it's not difficult to understand why she's so attached to the business.

Her parents opened their first store 32 years ago, and Chua practically grew up in their shops.

"I've been working here since I was young. So every weekend my parents would bring my two younger brothers and me to visit all the different outlets to be cashiers, to help out with cashiers or serving customers," she recalled.

Here's the irony: Growing up in the family business didn't make Chua dream of taking it over – quite the opposite.

Watching how hard her parents worked made the now-Year 2 Singapore Management University (SMU) business student want something considerably more predictable.

"My initial plan was to take a very stable corporate route because I saw my parents working very hard honestly for the shop. So I wanted to take just like a corporate role," she said.

And she gave that route a proper shot, previously interning at CapitaLand and JPMorgan.

Stefanie Chua (right) wants to look after the longtime staff in Tom & Stefanie. (Photo: Mediacorp)

Of course, Chua would be stepping into a challenging retail environment.

She attributed some of Tom & Stefanie's struggles to rising mall rents and competition from online retailers.

"Because of the rising competition from online stores, and mall rentals increasing at a rapid rate, it's definitely very hard for us to compete. Definitely," she said.

It's something 8days previously heard about when Tom & Stefanie announced the closure of its Hillion Mall outlet.

At the time, Chua told us discussions about renewing the lease had taken place before it expired.

"As a small independent brand operating on tight margins, rental proposals at levels that leave very limited room for operational costs make it extremely challenging to continue, even when there is consistent customer support and healthy footfall," she said then.

And rent isn't the only battle.

Earlier this year, the homegrown children's store announced that its Hillion Mall outlet was closing after six years, citing rising rental costs. (Photo: Tom & Stefanie)

There's also the small matter of customers standing inside physical stores, taking photos of products, then immediately Googling them to see if they're cheaper online.

Chua says she sees customers doing exactly that.

Except there's a catch: According to her, some products at Tom & Stefanie are actually cheaper in-store.

During filming, a car organiser selling for S$44.90 at Tom & Stefanie was found listed online for S$57.12.

"This is despite us paying rent and also staff. We're actually cheaper than online," Chua said. "But the thing is, most people have the assumption that in-person stores are already more expensive, so they don't bother checking the price."

They tried another item from the sale section.

Online: S$36.77. Tom & Stefanie? S$15.90.

Chua says they're able to keep some prices competitive by accepting smaller margins and relying on longstanding relationships with suppliers.

"The way that we do that is, firstly, we take a lesser profit margin. We don't earn as much for each product," she explained. "The second reason is through long-term supplier contacts and direct links to factories."

So yes, sometimes physically walking into the shop and checking the price still pays off.

This story was originally published in 8Days.

For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/ .

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创始人的女儿也叫斯蒂芬妮，从小就在家族商店帮忙。她说，她希望这家企业能够继续经营下去，因为许多老员工已经在公司工作了近 20 年。

Stefanie Chua的父母32年前开设了第一家Tom & Stefanie门店，这位目前就读于新加坡管理大学的学生表示，她是在父母的店里长大的。（图片：新传媒）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

还记得 Tom & Stefanie 吗？今年早些时候，这家本土儿童用品商店宣布，由于租金上涨，其位于 Hillion Mall 的门店将在经营六年之后关闭。

如今，这家拥有 32 年历史的家族企业又关闭了一家分店，这次是在中峇鲁广场。

Tom & Stefanie鼎盛时期在新加坡拥有10家门店。随着中峇鲁门店的关闭，现在只剩下3家了。

但如果创始人汤姆和斯蒂芬妮的女儿（也叫斯蒂芬妮）的想法能够实现的话，那么这家家族企业暂时还不会消失。

而延续父母的遗志并非她唯一的动力。Stefanie Chua 也惦记着那些陪伴她成长多年的老员工。

在新传媒的《Z世代速成班》节目中，蔡女士被问及，尽管面临诸多挑战，她为何认为维持公司运营至关重要。

她的回答出乎意料地动情。

“是的，我认为其中一个原因是，很多店员都和我们一起工作了将近 20 年，所以他们实际上见证了我们这些年的成长，”她说。

“所以，如果我们不得不解雇他们，我觉得会非常难过，因为我觉得他们年纪大了，很难在其他地方找到工作。因此，我觉得继续经营这家​​店对我来说很重要。”

当 Yes 933 电台 DJ 兼主持人陈启佳指出，延续家族传统是蔡先生肩上的巨大负担时，这位大学生明显情绪激动起来。

不难理解她为什么对这份事业如此投入。

她的父母在 32 年前开了第一家店，蔡女士几乎是在他们的店里长大的。

“我从小就在这里工作。所以每个周末，我的父母都会带着我和我的两个弟弟去各个门店当收银员、帮收银员的忙或者服务顾客，”她回忆道。

讽刺的是：在家族企业中长大并没有让蔡先生梦想接管家族企业——恰恰相反。

看着父母辛勤工作，这位目前就读于新加坡管理大学 (SMU) 商科二年级的学生想要一些更可预测的事情。

“我最初的计划是走一条非常稳定的企业路线，因为我看到我的父母为了这家店非常努力、诚实地工作。所以我也想从事类似企业的工作，”她说。

她认真尝试过这条路，之前曾在凯德集团和摩根大通实习。

蔡淑芬（右）希望照顾好Tom & Stefanie餐厅的老员工。（图片：新传媒）

当然，蔡女士将要进入一个充满挑战的零售环境。

她将 Tom & Stefanie 的部分困境归咎于商场租金上涨和来自在线零售商的竞争。

“由于来自线上商店的竞争日益激烈，加上商场租金快速上涨，我们确实很难与之竞争。确实如此，”她说道。

8天前，Tom & Stefanie宣布关闭其位于Hillion Mall的门店时，我们就听到了类似的消息。

当时，蔡先生告诉我们，在租约到期之前，双方已经就续租事宜进行过讨论。

她当时表示：“作为一个利润微薄的小型独立品牌，租金报价过低，导致运营成本空间非常有限，即使有持续的客户支持和健康的客流量，也很难继续经营下去。”

而房租并不是唯一的难题。

今年早些时候，这家本土童装店宣布，由于租金上涨，其位于希利恩购物中心的门店将在经营六年之后关闭。（图片：Tom & Stefanie）

还有一个小问题，就是顾客站在实体店里，拍下商品照片，然后立即上网搜索，看看网上是否更便宜。

蔡女士说她亲眼看到顾客这样做。

但有个问题：据她所说，Tom & Stefanie 的一些产品在实体店实际上更便宜。

拍摄期间，在 Tom & Stefanie 商店售价为 44.90 新元的汽车收纳包，在网上被发现标价为 57.12 新元。

“尽管我们也要支付租金和员工工资，但我们的价格实际上比网上还便宜，”蔡女士说。“但问题是，大多数人认为实体店的价格本来就更高，所以他们懒得去比较价格。”

他们又试了特价区的另一件商品。

网上售价：36.77 新元。Tom & Stefanie 售价：15.90 新元。

蔡先生表示，他们通过接受较小的利润率并依靠与供应商的长期合作关系，得以保持部分产品的竞争力。

她解释说：“我们这样做的方式首先是降低利润率，每件产品的利润并不高。其次，我们通过与供应商建立长期合作关系以及与工厂的直接联系来实现这一点。”

所以，是的，有时候亲自走进商店查看价格仍然是值得的。

本文最初发表于《8Days》杂志。

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