The push to 'Buy Singapore'

Hard sell of made-in-S'pore products to locals will help brands go international
Wednesday • February 2, 2005
Val Chua val@newstoday.com.sg

IMAGINE going completely patriotic one day — Breakfast at Ya Kun, lunch at Prima Taste and dinner at Crystal Jade, listening to music on your Creative Zen Micro and catching the news on your Akira television set.

The Singapore business community hopes more Singaporeans will do this, that is, choose made-in-Singapore goods and services over foreign imports to boost the fledging entrepreneurial movement.

A "Buy Singapore" campaign is being tossed around and the hope is that the Government will take the lead, said Mr Phillip Overmyer, executive director of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce.

"When the Japanese were selling automobiles in the US, the Americans countered by saying, 'Buy US cars'. And if you go to Ireland, they'd want you to drink Guinness, not Tiger," he told Today.

A bold, in-your-face campaign — complete with patriotic "made-in-Singapore" stickers in local stores — would send a strong signal that there is more than just empty talk about entrepreneurship.

The rationale: Stimulate market demand for the goods and services of small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) that would otherwise go unnoticed. The aim: More Creatives to take on the Apples of the world.

"If an SME doesn't have a viable market to get its business up and running in Singapore, it can never go international. If BreadTalk didn't take Singapore by storm, they won't be in Indonesia today," said Mr Overmyer.

This idea of a "Buy Singapore" campaign was mooted yesterday at the pre-Budget dialogue held by the Feedback Unit when the perennial problem of SMEs trying to stay afloat amid foreign giants was highlighted.

The problem is especially felt in the construction sector, but observers say it is also an issue in the retail sector, where unestablished Singapore brands quietly try to grow as shoppers go for flashier imports.

"When you think of Singapore restaurants, you think of Tung Lok and Thai Village. But there are a lot more Chinese restaurants, with Singapore roots, that suffer from a lack of branding and awareness," said Mr Wong Bun Huge, president of the 180-strong Restaurant Association of Singapore and owner of the Dragon City Restaurant.

IE Singapore has been helping Singapore companies break into foreign markets, but observers say it is established brands that are courted, not the unpolished diamonds.

"Similar support and attention should be given to developing brands like Akira," said avid shopper Janet Fong.

Putting a personality behind such campaigns may work, Ms Jannie Tay, who heads the 300-member Singapore Retail Association, told Today.

"In Thailand, PM Thaksin has been actively promoting the fashion industry there. The Malaysian PM's wife wears batik to promote it," she said, adding that since 80 per cent of retail customers are locals, a 'Buy Singapore' campaign makes sense.

"I'm all for it. First, we must promote at home, then we can go regional," said Ms Tay.

The Government should lead by changing its foreign-is-best mentality when awarding construction projects, said engineer Lee Bee Wah at the Feedback Unit session yesterday.

"In the past, a lot of big projects were awarded to big Japanese or Chinese construction firms. Singapore construction companies have since improved, but the system of awarding jobs hasn't changed," she claimed.

Instead of handing a large-scale project to just one main contractor, the Government should sub-divide the project and so create more opportunities for local players, she added.

Similarly, a "Buy Singapore" campaign might see Government-linked companies taking the lead and buying from the smaller boys, said Mr Overmyer.

The two-hour session, conducted annually by the Feedback Unit, was "fruitful", said Dr Wang Kai Yuen, Chairman of the Feedback Supervisory Panel and MP for Bukit Timah.

"In the past, the dialogue centred on specific tax measures," he said. "Today, the challenges are quite different and the discussion revolves around how to promote domestic demand, especially for SMEs. It's about Singaporeans taking ownership of their future."

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