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BookFest@Singapore 2021: 畅游故事间:第15届新加坡海外华文书市 Even as more countries begin opening their borders, many Singaporean families with kids might still feel hesitant about travelling abroad for the year-end holidays. Popular Singapore decided to recreate the experience of travelling for our customers through the 15th BookFest@Singapore in 2021. Themed “Going Places with Stories”, we took inspiration from Aesop’s Fables. The stories of the ancient Greek storyteller have captivated the imagination of readers for thousands of years. The power of words and storytelling can take our imagination places and help us overcome the physical constraints of our circumstances. With the tremendous success of POPULAR’s first-ever online BookFest@ Singapore in 2020, our customers were certainly looking forward to the 2021 edition! This enthralling journey unfolded at POPULAR’s flagship store in Singapore, Bras Basah Complex’s POP@Central. As the ultimate destination, the ambience was created for our customers over its 35,000 square feet, spreading over four levels. Now Boarding: Bargains Express For our customers, participating in BookFest@Singapore 2021 was a lot like boarding the express train to a world of rewards, bargains, and great deals. With discounts up to 80%, it was the fast lane to satisfying the needs of the whole family during the holiday season, regardless of budget, from crowd favourites like the iconic “Weekday Specials” bringing jaw- dropping discounts for selected items on designated days, to “Star Buys” with offers up to 60% off on hot-selling products. The annual BookFest@Singapore was planned to take place during the “Back-to- School” season, when parents and students got to enjoy attractive bundle deals on schooling essentials like school bags and stationery. The traditional highlight of BookFest@Singapore, the Grand Draw, also made a return appearance to reward our customers, with the chance of winning up to $100 worth of vouchers when they spent $150 at the fair. Popular Singapore also brought the excitement to cyberspace, with the newly launched e-Commerce platform, POPULAR Online. There were exclusive bargains for BookFest@Singapore, and “12.12” deals doubled the joy with special promotions giving out $40 worth of CapitaLand vouchers to 12 lucky winners and $10 worth of POPULAR Online Vouchers to another 12 lucky winners. A Sight to Behold: The Four-Storey Activity Tour Travelling is about exploring and embracing new sights and sceneries. As a delightful ode to wanderlust, POP@Central underwent a makeover to sport characters and décor reminiscent of the theme. Well-loved characters like the Ant and the Grasshopper from the eponymous fable story were spotted throughout the store. Christmas vibes were also added to boost the shopping atmosphere. The third level of our four-storey flagship store became a “playground” for families to participate in a series of fringe activities. Visitors could play games like “Matching Morals” where they matched 4- 4 p - po op p u ul la ar rn n e ew w s s 1 1 3 3 7 7 By Sim Yi Wen (Singapore) 文:沈毅文(新加坡)