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

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/.