Department stores in Singapore : the history of the mass consumption business institution

Abstract

This study aims to explore the business history of the department store institution and its impact on consumption in Singapore. It will attempt to answer the question: How did the establishment and growth of department stores from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century facilitate the development of a consumer culture in Singapore? Apart from company-written biographies, this area of local history has not been widely explored. This paper, therefore, seeks to contribute to the narrative of an aspect of Singapore’s culture of consumerism by looking at foreign and local department stores, beginning from the introduction of modern retailing and its evolution in society. It argues that department stores employed the use of and organised physical space in an unprecedented and novel way, to (1) purvey a diversity of goods from a variety of places, (2) make products conveniently accessible, and (3) craft special feelings and experiences associated with shopping in the stores, which contributed to the growth of a culture of consumption in Singapore.