Royal Sporting House and World Of Sports used to dominate Singapore’s sports retail scene – what happened?

SINGAPORE: In 2017, Royal Sporting House had 28 stores across Singapore, and was embarking on an image revamp to appeal to younger audiences. 

Today, just six outlets remain, according to information published online by the local sports retailer. This year alone, at least two stores – at Causeway Point and Northpoint City – have closed down.

Royal Sporting House opened its first store in Lucky Plaza in 1977, and steadily became one of the most recognisable, go-to destinations for generations of Singaporeans looking to buy sports equipment.

One such customer was avid runner and swimmer Maximilian Sin, who about 10 years ago was visiting the outlets on a weekly basis to look out for attractive sales. 

“The sales seemed more frequent at Royal Sporting House; the environment felt less intimidating, more mass-market, and more ‘heartland’,” said the 28-year-old, who works as a copywriter.

“I guess digital marketing and online (e-commerce) apps weren’t quite as rampant yet, and you didn’t quite know when great sales were happening.” 

Customers CNA spoke to said the decline in Royal Sporting House’s appeal could be traced to the late 2010s. 

For Mr Sin, it was when he started looking for serious running products, which he felt Royal Sporting House could not provide. So he turned instead to more niche local retailers like Running Lab, along with flagship stores of international brands such as New Balance and Nike. 

Other customers felt Royal Sporting House simply could not compete with lower prices by other retailers. 

Mr Wyn Kheng, 31, pointed to French firm Decathlon offering a larger variety of products under one roof, and at cheaper prices.

“People don’t really care about brands when they’re trying out a new sport,” he said. “If I go to (a local retailer) it would be a proper brand, and cost a bomb.”

CNA reached out multiple times to Royal Sporting House, which was acquired by UAE-based Gulf Marketing Group in 2020, but received no reply. 

It is not the only local sports retailer that has undergone a mass closure of stores in recent years. 

World Of Sports, which once had more than 20 outlets, appears to have quietly exited the retail scene. Its last social media post was in September 2022, and its website is defunct. 

Malls such as Plaza Singapura, VeloCity in Novena and Jurong Point have listed its stores as permanently closed on their online directories. No listing for an open and operating store can be found on Google Maps.

It was reported in 2016 that World Of Sports was owned by VGO Corp, a listed homegrown firm founded by businessman George Goh. CNA reached out to VGO but received no response either. 

Then there was Sportslink, which liquidated in July 2020 after accumulating debts to a substantial number of creditors. The local firm started from a single store at Queensway Shopping Centre in the 1980s, and had 35 outlets by 2015.