Retail has endured a tough 2025. Hurricanes reduced tourist numbers and forced stores to close on shopping days, shipping costs continued to increase, and US tariffs are creating uncertainty. “Spikey” was how Rebecca Singleton, founder and chief executive officer of TABS, summed it up.
For her business, however, there have been significant ups as well as downs. Her Cayman Islands store celebrated gold wins for Best Boutique and Best Men’s Store in the Best of Cayman Islands awards, the Dockyard store continues to do well, and her flagship retail store on Reid Street has a loyal following of customers who enjoy not just her colourful shorts, but the array of other clothing, jewellery and newly launched Isla Botanica aromatherapy products.
In spite of this success, the retail sector, and her business, has significant challenges to overcome heading into 2026. These are not just tariffs and shipping costs. “We have real issues with Amazon, Zara, all of these big box brands from the US. We’re tiny retailers and we have to compete with huge international brands,” she said.
When consumers buy something online however, they don’t see, or pay, the full landed price immediately. It may seem like that item is cheaper, but once shipping and duty has been added, that’s not necessarily the case.
One solution that could level the playing field would be updated and simplified Customs Procedure Codes (CPC) for retailers, so that if you import an item for a local store, you don’t pay the same duty as someone importing an item for themselves. “A lot of CPC codes were set up decades ago and things have changed and the way of doing business has changed. Back then, Amazon didn’t exist,” Ms Singleton pointed out.
“The retail market has changed and we have to adapt to it or retailers will close and we will not have a city centre. If you want a heart of a city and a place that people want to go, you need stores.” Stores are also important because the retail sector only employs Bermudians.
What about online shopping from local stores?
Locals buying online dropped off after Covid, and TABS’ overseas online business was decimated in the wake of US tariffs. Views on their website however, are still very high. “They’ll check it online first and then they’ll come into the store,” Ms Singleton said. “People aren’t making transactions on the website, but they are looking and that often leads to a sale.”
Despite the challenges they face, Bermuda’s retailers are fighting back. “We’re all banding together and realising that strength is in numbers and that we have to change, fundamentally, how people view shopping in Bermuda,” she said.
They agree that in order to encourage people to shop locally, they need to not only be price competitive, but also support each other, be open on the same days and times, in particular in the run-up to Christmas, and also create a vibrant shopping culture for customers to enjoy.
Business might be “spikey”, but Ms Singleton is an entrepreneur, and, she said, “the hustle doesn’t stop”. Not only is she launching new products and consistently improving her own products, but after the success of her Cayman Islands store, she is even considering further expansion into the Caribbean.
Bermuda’s retailers, she said, “are not in this for the money. We’re in this because we love Bermuda. They’re sales people at heart. They want to get you what you want.”
With the right support, she’s confident Bermuda’s stores can boom once more: “If the retail sector can come together with the support of the Government there’s nothing we can’t do.”
