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The beloved Popular bookstore outlet in Marine Parade, a mainstay in the area for decades, will be closing down.
The outlet will also have a closing sale from June 2 to 18, 2023, with discounts of up to 90 per cent.
Popular's website also states that customers can head down to the Marine Parade outlet to leave a message on a "Memory Wall", and recount their fondest memories about the place.
Out of these participants, 10 lucky winners will receive a S$20 Popular voucher.
Image from Popular website.
Online users respond
Sentiments about the outlet's closure poured in from online users.
Anthony Koh Waugh, founder of independent bookshop "Booktique Where Writers Shop" reminisced in a Facebook post about working there as a 16-year-old, back in 1989.
"There was a little cassette store in Popular Marine Parade," he recalled.
"In front of it were rows and rows of low platforms filled with books. Books were arranged like a spiral tower rising from the ground. No bookshop displays books like that anymore."
Customers were also required to deposit their bags as they entered the bookstore.
His experiences working in the bookstore held a special place in his heart, and eventually inspired him to become a bookseller himself, he said.
On Facebook, other users expressed their shock that one of their popular childhood haunts is closing down.
Some users shared that they hung out at the bookstore as children.
And for parents, it was a convenient place to browse while waiting for their children to finish their tuition classes nearby.
As well as to buy books for their children, of course.
Interested customers can visit the Popular website for more details on the sale.
Address: 86 Marine Parade Central, #02-101/102, Promenade 440086
Opening hours: 11am to 9pm daily.
Top image courtesy of TWD on Google.