Toy Plaza
With its fluorescent lit entrance and colourful toys lining the entrance of the shop, Toy Plaza is certainly a shop not to be missed. With the colourful packaging of toys that screams nostalgia and to current and trendy games, Toy Plaza breathes life into the monotonous, service-centric atmosphere of Coronation Plaza, offering a wide selection of games that connects customers from all walks of life. Formerly located in Serene Centre, Toy Plaza relocated to Coronation Plaza due to the dwindling crowds.
“They say there isn’t clientele or business. If they don’t have business, what about us?”
As we interviewed Ms Suraya, we come to recognise her realistic and practical personality. She understands the nature of Coronation Plaza as a older building waiting for its potential en bloc future. Having been located here for only 10 years, as opposed to her fellow shopkeepers of over 30 years – she sees it as a place of work, rather than possessing nostalgic memories. However, there are moments where Ms Suraya wistfully recalls Coronation Plaza back in the day, voicing her longing for the return of varied shops this old-timer used to have. She perks up at these memories, recalling, “When I first came here 10 years ago, it was a good place. We had more variety of shops: western restaurant, vegetarian restaurant, good outlets such as Golden Rooster. Golden Rooster sells fried chicken and fish came with coleslaw and rice. Very famous.”
Ms. Suraya writing down the sales for the day.
Her fond recollections are brought to an abrupt halt, with reminders of the mall’s current situation. The diminished diversity of shops in Coronation Plaza is the result of larger companies, such as UOB, offering to pay more attractive rent, inevitably pushing out the small shops that cannot compete with them.
Ms Suraya has witnessed the decline in customers in the mall, noting that the newly renovated NTUC FairPrice Finest down at Bukit Timah Plaza played a huge role in deterring their customers from heading to Coronation Plaza. She recognises why customers would choose to go to Bukit Timah Plaza instead, providing a wider variety of groceries and convenient carpark.
Due to Coronation Plaza being constructed in the 70s, the mall lacks the necessary facilities greatly required currently. “There is no lift to the carpark, people have to carry the grocery everything down to the carpark. They have to park their car outside and drag out... It’s very inconvenient.” Ms Suraya quips.
The journey of owning a niche shop such as Toy Plaza has been a bittersweet one for Ms Suraya. Being her own boss is not easy, requiring long working hours, paired with the inability to go on long holidays or take long leaves. Although uncertain about the future of Toy Plaza, Ms Suraya does not expect her children to takeover. “My children have their own careers, and nobody’s going to sit here and continue this small retail shop. This shop is managed by me alone, with nobody to takeover. So I have to close, I will.”