Flor Patisserie's Boss Appeals To Government To Curb Rising Shop Rents After 57% Rental Hike At Siglap Outlet
Known for its Japanese bakes like Strawberry Shortcake and Tofu Chiffon cake, Flor Patisserie recently announced the imminent closure of its last physical outlet at Siglap Drive due to significant rental hikes.
In a collaborative post two weeks ago, chef-owner Heidi Tan, 36, shared: “Our Siglap Drive landlord asked for a 57% increase in rent upon renewal of our lease come this July. Never thought our out-of-the-way, 21 mins by bus, 15 mins by walk from the nearest MRT station, no-parking-nearby outlet could be worth $8,500 in monthly rent (previously $5,400). That was exactly how much we were paying at our now-closed East Coast outlet, that had a much better frontage, with parking and accessibility.” The shop will close end June/early July.
Heidi opened the business in 2010 at the tender age of 21. The patisserie closed its Upper East Coast outlet in June 2024 and its Duxton outlet in July 2024 due to low footfall and high overall costs, “especially after borders reopened and people preferred to spend their strong [Singapore] dollars overseas,” she shared with 8days.sg when we reached out to her.
But it’s probably not goodbye forever for Flor Patisserie.
She added: “We are looking for another space to open a shop now. But it’s not easy to relocate our kitchen as we have sunk costs in terms of upgrading electrical power and building a cold room, both are non-transferable assets that we need for our operations. That’s our dilemma now.”
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Plea for govt curbs on escalating rents for small biz owners
In a recent follow-up IG post, which Heidi said was to “share and create awareness,” she wrote: “Sorry it’s not a cake post. But this is something we feel we have to address as a small business in Singapore.”
The post read: “We’ve posted on our stories before, asking our newly elected East Coast MP @edwintong for help.” (Heidi told 8days.sg he has not responded to her posts).
Suggested a few possible measures
“We want our government to introduce policies to create a fair playing ground for businesses and landlords. Right now, landlords hold overwhelming negotiating power. For the government to even consider moving a toe in this direction, we think they need to first recognise that high rents directly impact the cost of goods sold. It impacts our everyday prices.”
She continued: “We know why landlords are trying their damn hardest to increase rents. Because rent is the biggest factor in land valuation.”
In the same post that drew over 3,200 likes within a day, she suggested possible measures like, “Implementing a grace period in which a commercial property can be empty for. We suggest a cap of 6 months. After which, the landlord will be fined 50% of the asking rent every additional month that it's on the market. We are sure it will bring rents down super quick.”
“I am jaded, but it doesn’t mean I’ll give up hope”
She clarified: “[Do we want measures] like how our govt is giving CDC vouchers to offset increasing cost of living? No, we don't want this to be another burden for our taxpayers.”
“We want the government to implement sound and fair policies that nip these unfair practices in the bud. We also believe with rent control policy in place, we can curb the inflation rate”.
8days.sg asked Heidi if she was disillusioned with the current situation after being in the business for 15 years. She replied: “I am jaded, but it doesn’t mean I’ll give up hope. I genuinely want change to happen, so that small businesses like mine can thrive”.
Viral post drew customer support, but landlord doubled down on increased rent
After her first post on her Siglap shop’s rental hike went viral, Flor Patisserie received an outpouring of support from its customers. “Even old customers that we lost when we moved out from Duxton came all the way to the east to support us,” Heidi told 8days.sg. “[Support] from landlords? No. They were even opportunistic property agents calling us relentlessly to “sell” their overpriced rental units. From our current landlord? An even bigger no. He's upset at being painted as the bad guy, he told me I shouldn’t have shared my struggles as a business owner publicly. And he didn’t lower the [rent renewal] offer. He's currently looking for a new tenant, [and still] asking for $8,500 [a month].”
As she said in her IG post: “We are tired of this. Honestly, we just want to focus on what we do best, make good cakes.”
Flor Patisserie will be bringing back some of its nostalgic older desserts in its final months, including the Earl Grey Choco and Mango Pie.
Flor Patisserie is at 42 Siglap Dr, S456167 and will close end June/early July. Open Tue to Sun, 10.30am to 6.30pm. Tel: 62430813. More info via Instagram.
Photos: Flor Patisserie
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