PHOEBE LEONG | TRIBECA

IN 2002, when Phoebe Leong opened TriBeCa at Forum, she faced one huge hurdle: the retail slump. 'The economy then wasn't doing very well,' she recalls. 'I noticed that a lot of the big brands were suffering because people were trading down so what I did when I opened TriBeCa was to stock a lot of diffusion labels and people reacted very well to them.'

Tapping on her ability to spot the next big things in fashion before her competitors gave Ms Leong an edge. Brands such as Matthew Williamson, Juicy Couture and Diane von Furstenberg were some of the labels that Ms Leong brought into Singapore well before their time. The latter two have since become so popular they now have their own standalone boutiques.

'We're talking about a time where Internet shopping wasn't so popular yet,' explains Ms Leong. 'The brands we were stocking were really well received because people were reading about them but couldn't get them anywhere else.'

Eight years down the road, TriBeCa finds itself facing yet another - albeit recovering - economic slump, and again at a time where they've just opened a second boutique, this time at Mandarin Gallery. But unlike the trading down that consumers did eight years ago, Ms Leong noticed a new trend amongst her shoppers.

'Instead of trading down, consumers now just become more selective. Rather than buy cheaper things, they save their money to buy one item that they really want,' she says. 'The TriBeCa at Mandarin Gallery is precisely about that - very luxe items that people are willing to save up and pay for but items that immediately make you stand up and go, wow.'

Indeed, one look at the designers that Ms Leong has chosen for the new TriBeCa and you immediately understand where she's coming from. Huge - and often pricey - designer names such as Balmain, Charlotte Olympia, Halston and Roland Mouret are just some of the stars that Ms Leong stocks.

'Our philosophy is always to bring in something different and current - what people what at this present moment,' reveals Ms Leong. 'Then, in 2002, that translated into diffusion lines, today we're talking about exciting clothes for maximum impact although we still stock more casual day clothes such as leggings and t-shirts at our Forum boutique.

'Consumers are also much savvier today. When we first opened in 2002, some people would ask us, what brand is this or that, and we would have to explain it to them, but today they come in and say, I heard you sell Roland Mouret. That is really good for us.'

She adds that the good thing about being a multi-label boutique is that it is constantly evolving. If a brand works, you grow with it, but if it doesn't you can filter it out. 'We bring in between five to 10 new designers every season so our collection keeps growing. We do, however, filter out those that are either not growing or not as current anymore. That's the beauty of a multi-label boutique, you don't have to bear with something that doesn't work,' she concludes. 'That said, on the other hand, there's also the fear that some labels that we've grown decide that they want to move on and open their own standalone boutique here. Then again, everything's fair. The fact that you don't have to be loyal to a brand, means that they don't have to be loyal to you, I guess it works both ways.'

Tribeca is at Forum and Mandarin Gallery.

This article was first published in The Business Times.

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