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On Feb. 15, the Music Book Room, located at Bras Basah Complex, announced on Facebook that it would be permanently closed by the end of the month.

In the post, the bookstore also thanked its customers for their care and support since its inception 43 years ago and shared that it would be having a clearance sale.

When Mothership visited the Music Book Room on Feb. 22, a yellow sign pasted at the front of the shop, said in English and Chinese: "Dear friends, we are saying goodbye [at] the end of February! Thank you for your support all these years."

A range of items were sold at a discount of between 30 per cent and 50 per cent, and a number of customers were seen browsing.

Where the store started

Tan Lay Hui, the owner of the bookstore, shared with Mothership that the store was not as big as its final iteration when it first started out in 1980.

According to Tan, the Bras Basah area used to nest many similar businesses, such as the World Book Company, the Shanghai Book Company, and smaller bookstores run by Indian Singaporeans.

To set her store apart, Tan decided to centre her offerings on music, which comprised books, test papers, and cassettes of Chinese and Western music, amongst other items.

In the early days, she had also experimented with selling sneakers and sports attire at her store.

Customers could even change the rubber padding of their ping pong bats there too.

Subsequently, when her Indian neighbour decided to close their store, Tan took over the space and expanded the Music Book Room to what we have come to know today.

Reasons for closing down

When asked why she decided to close down her store, having invested 43 years of her life, Tan explained that the retail industry, as well as customer expectations, have changed substantially since her early days.

As she is already 71 years old this year, Tan shared candidly that she no longer has the energy to refurbish the entire store to keep up with the latest developments.

Her two children, who are both professionals, also do not intend to carry on the business as they might not be able to enjoy as much vacation time or flexibility to attend to family matters.

Separately, Tan also said she believes that if another F&B establishment takes over the space, it could help rejuvenate Bras Basah Complex and bring in new visitors.

Treating employees with kindness

Currently, the bookstore is run by a lean team of five, including Tan.

When asked about her role in the team, Tan humbly shared that she did not possess many skills, so she entrusted the operations and management of the store to Lee Soh Kuan, who has been working at the bookstore for 42 years.

When it comes to her relationship with her employees, Tan is a firm believer that it is important to treat them with kindness as much as she can, just like in her personal life.

For example, whenever there is a decision to be made, she will make sure to discuss it together with her team first.

Even during the pandemic, when footfall dropped significantly, Tan did not lay off any employees or reduce their salaries.

As a result, many employees stayed with the bookstore for decades, and the only ones that left over the years only did so because of personal circumstances, such as wanting to take care of their families.

Tan's kindness was also endorsed by Lee, the bookstore's manager and long-time employee, who described her employer of 42 years as compassionate, wise, and cultured.

Lee told Mothership that she has learnt a lot from Tan over the years, and Tan really trusted her with running the store.

Well-loved by neighbours & customers

Besides her employees, many of Tan's neighbours and customers have also developed a close bond with the owner and her shop over the years.

As the bookstore has been in the HDB block since its completion, many residents would pass by the bookstore and greet her on the way, recalled Tan.

Over time, many of them became close friends with the bookstore owner and even treat her and her team with snacks, such as ang ku kueh, curry bub, and popiah.

After the news of the bookstore's closure was reported by the media, many former customers who used to patronise it as students, made their way to the bookstore and took pictures with Tan.

According to Lee, some of them also brought their children along to revisit the store for one last time.

These fond memories and connections she built with her customers over the years are what prompted Tan to address them as "friends" in the yellow sign at her store, rather than patrons.

Introduce customers to the other bookstore at Bras Basah Complex

While Tan will be closing her bookstore soon, her sense of responsibility for her customers will not be coming to an end.

Over the past few weeks, she has been introducing her patrons, especially those who bought year-long subscriptions from her bookstore, to Union Book, which is located on the third floor of Bras Basah Complex.

Tan explained that this is something she should and must do, as she refuses to leave her customers hanging and not knowing where to find similar music products after her store's closure.

Furthermore, Tan said she believes that this introduction of customers to her neighbour upstairs would also ensure the continuance of Bras Basah's heritage as an art and cultural precinct in Singapore.

Focusing on family life moving forward

As for her retirement plan, Tan shared that she would be spending more time with her children and grandchildren.

She explained that previously, her working schedule was so packed that she could not even make time to help her daughter with primary school homework.

Tan also added that she would like to explore the unseen side of Singapore as the country has also changed drastically over the last 40 years.

All images via Winnie Li