SaSa shut all 22 Singapore stores after six straight years of losses

On 2 December 2019 Hong Kong cosmetics retailer SaSa International announced it would close all 22 of its Singapore shops, affecting about 170 workers, after the stores 'recorded losses for six consecutive years despite its efforts to turn the business around'.

The company said it had taken measures in recent years — restructuring the local management team, enhancing store display and adjusting product mix to drive sales — but 'regrettably, the results were far from satisfactory'. Turnover for the six months ended 30 September 2019 was HK$99.4 million (about S$17.3 million), down 4.6 per cent year on year. SaSa said employees would be fully compensated under Singapore's employment regulations.

The exit was framed as a refocus: the management team overseeing Singapore and Malaysia would concentrate on Malaysia, seen as having higher potential, while the group pushed expansion in mainland China and its e-commerce business to offset weakness at home in Hong Kong, where mainland Chinese tourist arrivals had fallen sharply. SaSa noted the closures were small at group level — 22 of 265 stores — with cash and bank balances of HK$788.7 million as of 30 September, 'adequate for its operational needs'.

About 170 Singapore jobs affected (compensated per local rules); turnover for the six months to 30 September 2019 fell 4.6% to HK$99.4 million

Six years of losses through repeated fixes showed the problem was the market's structure, not the last management team.

Singapore's turnover was shrinking even before the exit, so the 22 stores consumed attention without returning growth.

Malaysia offered better prospects from the same management structure, making the exit a reallocation rather than a retreat.

With Hong Kong hit by falling mainland tourist arrivals, the group needed wins it could actually produce.

Fixing displays and managers can't save a market that is structurally unprofitable — know when the multi-year fix has failed.

The closure was announced on 2 December 2019, with workers to be compensated under local rules and the group asserting it remained viable with sufficient funds. No final closure dates or costs are given.