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  POPULAR has experienced much domestically. The company had become success since beginning its Singapore operations in 1924. However, it faces several challenges today due to the changing local bookstore industry. Many bookstores have struggled to adapt to the changing business environment. The introduction of e-readers and e-commerce has led to online competitors taking away market share. When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Singapore in January 2020, it seemed like the breaking point for the remaining bookstores as most consumers stayed home out of concerns for safety. However, while many bookstores have closed down, POPULAR managed to stay afloat. A Changing Industry POPULAR built a network of bookstores in convenient neighbourhood locations. Naturally, it hoped that consumers would choose to buy a particular book from POPULAR rather than a competing bookstore. The advent of the Internet meant that bookstores started to compete on price as consumers could easily compare prices before making their purchasing decisions. Improvements in technology allowed books to be digitised and sold in soft copy format. New industry participants capitalised by implementing e-commerce business models. Online retailers have been able to price their products more cheaply due to the ability to purchase from any distributor and the absence of rental costs. Amazon is the largest online retailer with 103 million members, and it has been able to leverage its bargaining power over its suppliers to secure a more than 60% discount for its books. Amazon’s success led to revenues of S$3.86 billion in 2014. However, brick-and-mortar competitors in the United States suffered, resulting in a “retail apocalypse” where more than 50% of independent bookstores shut down between 1994 and 2014. Uniquely Singapore Despite the closure of overseas stores, POPULAR continued to prosper entrenched as part of Singapore’s meritocratic education system, designed to enable positive social mobility. A high literacy rate was achieved by getting children to start reading at an early age. Popular Holdings Limited’s Group CEO Mr Chou Cheng Ngok knew that people would never stop reading: “The desire for fiction, content, information, and knowledge never ceases; one of the defining characteristics of mankind is our ability to imagine and speak about fiction and ideas. While preferences in types of content and the way we access books may change, the habit of reading, for leisure or otherwise, prevails.” While the educational system raised the standard of living, it also created an intense examination culture. Parents felt pressured to engage tuition services in order to allay fears that their children would fall behind in school. The demand for assessment books and supplementary resources was astronomical, creating a thriving tuition market worth S$1.4 billion in 2019. POPULAR carried educational resources for children of all ages, and soon became a one-stop shopping destination for families. It carried books in different local languages and stocked a wide range of merchandise including stationery, electronic gadgets, and household appliances. The company’s philosophy was to provide an innovative product offering. “Retail is very interesting. It's basically common sense. If you're willing to explore and think, you can have various permutations and combinations.” Based on customer profiles and size constraints, POPULAR experimented with various store layouts at different locations with the aim of keeping customers in the store longer. Changing Consumer Behaviour POPULAR had been affected by the showrooming trend, where customers gained information about products in their stores before buying from online competitors. However, Mr Chou believed in his strategy of maintaining a strong 137 popularnews - 13 


































































































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