After a series of laying off employees from their Philippine operations, German cloning titan Rocket Internet has fired more employees in Southeast Asia, this time from its Singapore base. Online furniture shopping portal Home24.sg is apparently shutting down.
We hear that several employees were fired several weeks ago and today was asked to come into the office to gather their stuff as the outfit is being closed. The website is still live though but customer service calls go unanswered.
Seems like its sneaking up on Singapore’s furniture retailers to try to capture the market didn’t work.
This is a developing story and we will update if we hear back from Rocket Internet.
Update on 18th May: There was a couple of days of delay, but Home24.sg has finally launched.
Provided there are no unexpected delays, Home24.sg, an online furniture by the Samwer Brother’s Rocket Internet, will launch in Singapore tomorrow. SGE received the news from a company insider, who declined to be named.
We’ve also received details and screenshots (below) of the alpha version of the site. Based on what we know, Home24.sg will offer about 5,000 variations of houseware, kitchenware, tableware, and lighting items. Their inventory will consist of a mix of local and foreign brands.
Customers will not be charged for delivery to their homes. They will also receive a refund if they find that the same item is priced lower in any other major retailer, or if the product does not suit their homes. The offer is valid within seven days of purchase. There are no delivery charges for refunds too.
(Read: Are the Samwer Brothers’s Rocket Internet really that bad for Southeast Asia?)
Home24.sg will face competition from other online furniture retailers like Courts, BEDS.sg, and Furnituremart.sg. Read more
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