WhereIsAtlas · Retail

Popular Bookstore

The home-grown Singapore bookstore chain that put assessment books in every schoolbag — and is now closing the branches that raised generations of readers

Transformed — POPULAR is still trading in Singapore — but the chain is smaller than the one most Singaporeans grew up with. Its Jurong Point outlet, open since 1995, closed on 13 September 2026 after 31 years, and the VivoCity outlet shut after 16 August 2026. POPULAR reopened at Hougang Mall on 4 September 2026, giving it 26 stores across the island, and says it has no plans for further closures.

Popular's history in Singapore begins in 1924, when its founder Chou Sing Chu arrived from China and set up Cheng Hing Company, distributing Chinese storybooks and picture books. The name that stuck came in 1936, when Popular Book Company was established as a retail channel for Chinese books — the year the company itself now treats as the birth of the bookstore chain. A flagship store at Bras Basah Complex opened in 1980 and marked POPULAR's transformation into a bilingual bookstore; the company says it is now the largest bookstore chain in Southeast Asia, with over 100 retail stores across Singapore and Malaysia.

For generations of Singaporean families, POPULAR was inseparable from school. It was where parents bought assessment books, where students bought pens and files, and where the annual ritual of preparing for exams began. The chain added a membership programme in 1990, an educational publishing arm in 1996, and the BookFest@Singapore fair in 2006. In 2013 it absorbed the Singapore stores of the American chain Borders and renamed them POPULAR, and in 2021 it launched its own online store, POPULAR Online.

Its neighbourhood branches, however, have been thinning for years. Responding to queries from The Straits Times on 6 August 2026, POPULAR said its VivoCity and Jurong Point outlets would close because of the shopping malls' retail plans. VivoCity, which opened in 2018, closed after 16 August 2026; the Jurong Point branch, which had been in the mall since 1995, ceased operations after 13 September 2026, following a moving-out sale that began on 14 August. That ended 31 years at the same address in Jurong West. Earlier closures included the Marine Parade branch, which shut in June 2023 after 37 years, Thomson Plaza in 2019 and IMM in 2021.

The company framed the 2026 closures as a reshuffle rather than a retreat. It reopened at Hougang Mall on 4 September 2026, after its previous outlet there closed in January for the mall's renovations, and said it would have 26 stores in Singapore with "no plans for any further store closures". It also pointed Jurong Point customers to its remaining west-side outlets at Westgate, West Mall and The Clementi Mall, and VivoCity shoppers to Tiong Bahru Plaza.

What has changed most is what a POPULAR store sells. The chain has said that changing consumer habits prompted it to transform "from a traditional bookstore to a one-stop shop", and its shelves now carry stationery, gadgets and IT products, small appliances and even titbits alongside English, Chinese and assessment books. Ownership changed too: the group delisted from the Singapore Exchange in 2015, and in November 2023 Hong Kong investment firm ZQ Capital took full ownership of Popular Holdings.

Quick facts

Founded: 1924 as Cheng Hing Company; Popular Book Company established 1936
Founder: Chou Sing Chu
Jurong Point branch: Opened 1995; closed 13 September 2026 after 31 years
VivoCity branch: Closed after 16 August 2026
Reopened: Hougang Mall, 4 September 2026
Singapore stores: 26 after the Hougang Mall reopening
Earlier closures: Marine Parade (2023, after 37 years), Thomson Plaza (2019), IMM (2021)
Owner: ZQ Capital, full owner since November 2023
Now sells: Books, stationery, gadgets, appliances and snacks

Sources

Our Story — POPULAR (2026-09-15)
Popular Bookstore closing Jurong Point and VivoCity outlets, reopening in Hougang Mall — The Straits Times (via Nestia) (2026-09-15)
POPULAR Bookstore Is Closing Its VivoCity & Jurong Point Outlets, But Says No More Closures Are Planned — Goody Feed (2026-09-15)
Popular Jurong Point Outlet's Closing-Down Sale — TheSmartLocal (2026-09-15)
Not just books: The changing face of Popular bookstore — The Straits Times (2026-09-15)
Hong Kong investment firm takes full ownership of Popular bookstore chain — CNA (2026-09-15)

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