John Little, also known as JL, is Singapore's oldest department store. It was the first European store to offer imported cookies and musical instruments. In 2006, John Little had seven stores island-wide, including five in the heartlands. Wholly owned by Robinson and Company Limited, John Little is positioned as the Group's discount store, targeting young and budget-conscious families. In the year 2004, it registered a turnover of S$96.2 million, contributing to 27.5% of Robinson and Company's turnover.
Early history
The story of John Little began in 1842 when John Martin Little started out as a storekeeper and auctioneer of an establishment of his relative Francis S. Martin at Raffles Place (formerly known as Commercial Square). On 30 August 1845, John M. Little and Cursetjee Frommurzee, a well-known Parsee merchant took over the business and continued it under the name of Little, Cursetjee & Co. In 1853, the partnership was dissolved but John M. Little continued the business in the same premise with his brother Matthew Little under the name of John Little & Co. In July 1853, the company was converted to a limited company and by 1929, it had expanded to Malaya, with branches in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Ipoh.
During the Japanese Occupation
During the Japanese Occupation, the Kuala Lumpur branch was destroyed. Other Malayan branches were forced to close down. In Singapore, John Little's building at Raffles Place was taken over by the Japanese Army and subsequently, the store was known as Daimaru, serving the Japanese clientele exclusively. Following the end of the war, John Little resumed business in June 1946, operating on a limited trading hours due to shortages in commodities. Normal trading hours were resumed only six months later.
Later years
John Little was soon overtaken by Robinsons in terms of popularity. In 1955, Robinsons bought a 76% stake on John Little and the remaining stake by the end of the year. Over the years, John Little shifted to several locations before settling at Specialists Centre in 1985. In 1987, John Little went through an image makeover to shed its image of the poor man's Robinsons. It was relaunched on August 29 as JL with a new logo. In 1992, amidst anticipated competition in Orchard Road from the new major foreign departmental stores, John Little began its expansion in the suburbs with the opening of an 11,000 square feet store in Northpoint to capture a larger customer base of young, budget-conscious families in the heartlands. It continued its expansion in the heartlands with stores located at White Sands, Causeway Point, Jurong Point and Compass Point. In September 2003, it increased its presence along the Orchard Road shopping belt with another store in Plaza Singapura.
Author
Joshua Chia Yeong Jia
References
Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore: 1819-1867 (p. 350). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC)
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John Little, Marks & Spencer opening in Plaza Singapura. (2003, June 6). The Straits Times, Home, p. 2. Retrieved January 21, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
John Little. (n.d.). History. Retrieved March 17, 2006, from www.johnlittle.com.sg/history.asp
John Little. (n.d.). Our stores. Retrieved March 17, 2006, from www.johnlittle.com.sg/stores.asp
Makepeace, W., Brooke, G. E., & Braddell, R. St. J. (Eds.). (1991). One hundred years of Singapore (Vol. 2, p. 204). Singapore: Oxford University Press.(Call no.: RSING 959.57 ONE)
Mulchand, S. (1992, January 30). Stores targeting thrifty shoppers. The Business Times (Singapore), p. 14. Retrieved March 17, 2006, from Factiva database.
Robinson and Company Limited. (n.d.). Annual report: 2003. Singapore: Robinson and Company Limited. Retrieved Mar 17, 2006, from www.robinsons.com.sg/ar2003.asp
Robinson and Company Limited. (n.d.). Annual report: 2005. Singapore: Robinson and Company Limited. Retrieved Mar 17, 2006, from www.robinsons.com.sg/ar2005.asp
Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. (1992). Changing Times: Raffles Place [Video Tape]. Singapre: Singapore Broadcasting Corporation.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 CHA)
Siow, D. (1990, October 12). John Little may move out of Specialists' Centre. The Straits Times, p. 48. Retrieved January 21, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Siow, D. (1989, October 3). JL hopes to be back in the black this financial year. The Straits Times, p. 37. Retrieved January 21, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
The information in this article is valid as at 2006 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
