Beauty Emporium; Level 2, 8D Dempsey Road; Tel 6475-7375
There is every chance that your first impression upon walking into Beauty Emporium (BE) is that you've stumbled into another one of the gourmet food stores that are littered around Dempsey Hill.
'We had a customer popping in to ask where Strip is located and if we sell fresh ingredients which she can purchase to prepare dinner as she thought we were an actual supermarket,' says Cynthia Chua, managing director of the Spa Esprit Group that runs BE.
In reality, BE is a supermarket, just not for food. It stocks a range of beauty and lifestyle products such as flowers, CDs (from Love Da Music), books (from Books Actually) and a range of beauty products from labels such as Malin + Goetz, Aunt Ilcsi and Sco on the second floor of House at Dempsey. The cavernous 17,000 sq ft space also hosts the group's other concepts such as Strip (waxing), Browhaus (eyebrow grooming) and Mask (facials).
Ms Chua chose Dempsey because the location gives the right vibe for her business. 'It has relaxing lush greenery and is located just around the corner from Orchard Road,' she says. 'I wanted BE to be a space where one can spend a few hours indulging in treatments, get some 'me' time and where better then Dempsey?'
She adds that as Singaporeans grow more savvy retail-wise, they now seek out more interesting concepts. 'Beauty emporium is the first ever grocery store concept beauty space which combines all the established brands under one roof.' And even though it's not in the Orchard Road belt, Ms Chua feels that convenience will make up for the slightly out of the way location. 'It's not just about one space catering to one need, it is a space where you can get a complete grooming experience without having to travel from store to store,' she concludes. 'On top of that, parking is free!'
This article was first published in The Business Times.
