Singapore’s premier string gallery Tong Ming Xi opened their second retail store, Play, in partnership with Mandeville Conservatory of Music and situated within their music school at United Square.
Marrying education with the craft of a luthier, the concept behind Play is to showcase interesting and educational facts about string instruments for children and will feature live demonstrations of violin restorations and repairs by the company’s luthiers during selected time slots.
Through SPRING Singapore’s Capability Development Grant (CDG), we were able to work with Tong Ming Xi to establish a unique retail space experience to rethink string instruments beyond just instruments, as art and as lifestyle-inspired accessories. Other than developing the retail concept, Consulus also assisted in building up key capabilities in retail management. We set up the processes for management to hire and train staff, created a strategically coherent customer service experience and developed a year-long marketing calendar that they can build upon.
Play will provide comprehensive repair and restoration services for string instruments in an effort to better meet the needs of the strings community. The store will also carry contemporary and antique string instruments from all over the world, catering to both amateur and professional players. This not only opened up new opportunities for Tong Ming Xi, but gave them better access to the teachers and other influencers in the market.
“The opening of Play in partnership with Mandeville is a important step towards realising our long-term goal of reaching out to the larger string community. It also provides us with the perfect platform to educate the community about not just the art but also the science and intricate craft behind string instruments. This is the beginning of a very exciting journey for us,” said Mr Tong Ming Xi, founder of Tong Ming Xi Pte Ltd.
Play, an experience by Tong Ming Xi, is located at United Square Shopping Mall, #03-21. They can be reached at +65 6259 2550.
