Owed $12k and $30k worth of stock: Local designer claims National Gallery museum store lacks integrity

"Please don't blame it on Covid. Covid does not cause a deficit in integrity."

Those were the words posted by local designers The Little Drom Store on their Instagram stories yesterday (August 6), addressing the management team behind museum and lifestyle store Gallery & Co, located within National Gallery Singapore.

The Little Drom Store is known for their Singapore-inspired merchandise, while Gallery & Co had been listed as one of the 10 best museum shops around the world by The Guardian. 

In their post, The Little Drom Store shared that they have not received payment amounting to $12,000 for their goods sold at Gallery & Co since November 2019. They also have "almost $30,000 worth of goods sitting in their shop that we have no access to".

Highlighting their immense disappointment, they wrote: "10 years into the retail business, we have never felt so cheated, stupid and disappointed before with the team going radio silence on us.

"We trusted you, top up goods promptly, agreed to a credit term and sponsored gifts for your events."

Sharing that they had just received an email from the liquidators about Gallery and Co's closure and that they are unsure if they would be paid, they said: "This is a major lesson learnt on the business and human trust."

They went on to state that $12,000 is not a small sum to them. "It means surviving the retail downtime during Covid. It means supporting our other valuable and trustworthy stockists when they need help during this time. It means paying our kids school fees for an entire year."

Concluding their post, they advised other small businesses to watch out for red flags. "If you are constantly chasing for payments and communication has been inconsistent, you should think twice about the partnership. Because when things like that happen, you would be left on the chopping block."

Following the post by The Little Drom Store, the management team behind Gallery & Co, ByandCo posted a statement on Facebook about the shop's closure and current liquidation state today (August 7). 

"We are hugely dependent on tourism and retail. With Covid, both sectors are severely impacted. Gallery & Co is now under liquidation," write ByandCo. 

Regarding their lack of communication, they said were not able to say anything about the winding down, as "it should be via the liquidator and through due process so that the same information is released to everyone at the same time". They also shared the contact information of their liquidators. 

But it seems that the National Gallery Singapore will be keeping the Gallery & Co brand name under a new management entity. 

ByandCo expressed regret over the situation and wished that things could have "ended on better terms" as they had just wanted to "showcase our local brands and to boost regional support for cottage industry".

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/GalleryandCo/photos/a.867898853294109/3139640229453282/?type=3&theater[/embed]

AsiaOne has reached out to ByandCo, The Little Drom Store and other businesses that were stocked at Gallery & Co.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

kailun@asiaone.com