Lim Choon Hong, Founder of Singapore-based furniture and product retailer Xtra, marks the company’s 30th anniversary with a trip down memory lane. How many of these moments do you remember?
April 8th, 2020
We set up shop in in a small space in Tanjong Katong Road, and then moved to a pair of pre-war shophouses in East Coast Road in 1991. We tried to establish Xtra as a playful ‘personality’ furniture store, offering high-quality design but not elitism.
The move from Katong to Park Mall marked the transition of Xtra from a boutique alternative design store to a mainstream design store. We balanced the latest European releases with more mass-appeal pieces in wrought iron, woven water hyacinth and timber.
The beginning of the Herman Miller dealership gave rise to the incorporation of Xtra Office and is a significant catalyst in elevating Xtra as a key contract/office furniture player in the market.
We started hosting leading international design industry figures during their visits to Singapore, such as Karim Rashid for Magis (2004), Eames Demetrios (2007), Tom Dixon (2010), Patrizia Moroso of Moroso (2014) and Alberto Perazza of Magis (2014), and many more since.
Xtra celebrated its 20th anniversary! We showcased a ‘Black Collection’ of outstanding pieces from the Xtra catalogue. The showcased brands included Herman Miller, Magis, Dedon, Tribu and more.
Another highlight event in this era was our ‘Woof! Love’ campaign in 2007. We asked Singaporean creatives to reinterpret the much-loved Magis Puppy.
Over at Winsland House I in Killiney Road, our sister showroom space featured outdoor and kitchen brands. Dedon and Tribu were among the highlights there.
We opened a Herman Miller shop-in-shop at Park Mall – the first of its kind in Asia outside Tokyo. The store design by Pan Yicheng of P.A.C. studio won the World Architecture Festival’s (WAF’s) ‘Retail’ award that year.
Xtra celebrated its 25th anniversary!
With the sale of Park Mall, 2016 was the end of an era. Xtra moved to Marina Square – the start of a new chapter. The move brought all of our brands into the same building – in our two showrooms dedicated to retail and office/contract sales. Favourite brands such as Kettal, Moroso, Tom Dixon, Tribu, Dedon, Magis and more are presented in our beautiful retail space designed by Produce.
The new design for the Herman Miller shop-in-shop by Pan Yicheng (now of Produce studio) won the ‘Display’ category at the INSIDE Awards (part of WAF) and also the top global prize for the year.
Xtra celebrated its 30th anniversary with a party at Marina One in December. Things have certainly changed a lot in the months since. But we look forward to more opportunities to bring Singapore’s design community together again when the time is right.
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