20-09-28 ORBA AR 2020_ cheryl edited

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
“During these uncertain
times, I believe that it
is even more crucial to
think out of the box and
exercise greater creativity
and flexibility in dealing
with challenges.
”
Road and the Singapore River. This campaign
provided an excellent opportunity for ORBA to
support an often overlooked group in our business
community – our beloved ice cream uncles – by
treating shoppers to their treats, including the
iconic ice-cream sandwich.
In April, during the circuit breaker, we provided
support to our food and beverage (F&B)
community by compiling an e-booklet, listing all
the restaurants in the Orchard Road area that
offered takeaway and deliveries. During this time,
many other Singapore residents also reached out
with ground-up initiatives to support our local
eateries and foreign workers in different ways, and
it was heart-warming to see Singapore working
together amidst this rather bleak landscape.
The phased approach to reopening the economy
started on 2 June, allowing more businesses to
restart their operations. Dining out has since
resumed, while more public spaces are being
allowed for social activities, all with safety and
contact tracing measures in place.
Since August, Singapore has begun cautiously
reopening its borders to travellers. However, we
believe that it will be some time before leisure
travel and large-scale business events restart
in earnest, at least not until a viable vaccine or
management plan for Covid-19 is developed.
We foresee that it will be a long time before
we return to the pre-Covid normality, so in the
meantime, businesses will have to adapt to this
“new normal” if they are to operate successfully.
At ORBA, our management team and Exco have
been reviewing our strategies and plans in light of
the current situation. At the time of preparing
this report, we have decided to go ahead with our
annual Christmas Light-Up and Christmas on A
Great Street festivities at the end of 2020. The
decision to go ahead with the event this year
was not taken lightly. The final call was reached
after lengthy consultations with the authorities to
ensure that the Light-Up would be safe and would
celebrate the festive season, as well as honour the
sacrifices made by our healthcare workers and all
Singaporeans during the year.
Whilst it would be a terrible blow if we had to
cancel the Light-Up Ceremony at Orchard Road
which has, for the past 36 years, heralded the
start of the festive year-end period in Singapore,
we have also made contingency plans in case the
social distancing measures remain in force or are
tightened towards the end of the year. Other than
this, we do not envisage being able to stage any
large-scale events for the foreseeable future.
These restrictions have made us thankful that
we managed to organise a study trip to Tokyo in
September 2019 before the pandemic began,
and were able to hold meaningful dialogues
with Japanese government agencies and area
management representatives and retailers.
Also, in that same month, we sent delegates to
represent ORBA at the Futian International
Fashion Strategic Committee Ceremony and the
Hangzhou Walking District International Forum.
Last year, our Great Christmas Village in 2019
was the biggest ever, taking place across three
different locations with live music performances,
exciting rides and family-friendly activities. The
2.88-kilometre Orchard Road was immersed in
lights and decorations centred around love, joy
and peace, as befitting “The Greatest Gift” theme.
Pandemic or not, ORBA remains resolute in our
mission to protect and promote the interests and
welfare of businesses along Orchard Road.
We have been facilitating communication
between Orchard Road stakeholders and various
government bodies and will continue tirelessly
in our efforts on this front. We stand ready to
support our stakeholders in any other way possible
going forward. As a gesture of solidarity with our
members as we tackle the numerous challenges
ahead, we have informed all members of our
decision to waive the annual ORBA membership
fees, amounting to about $100,000.
On behalf of the ORBA Exco, I would like to
express our sincerest gratitude to ORBA’s
sponsors, the government authorities and all our
partners for their unwavering support. I would also
like to express my appreciation for our Executive
Director, Mr Steven Goh, and the ORBA team
for their dedication, passion and hard work.
During these uncertain times, I believe that it
is even more crucial to think out of the box and
exercise greater creativity and flexibility in dealing
with challenges. The business landscape is likely
to see a significant shift, but I have no doubt
that ORBA, together with our stakeholders, will
emerge from this stronger and more resilient.
06 07