Popular Holdings

[violinist]

I disagree with yr assessment. While MP3 is a perfect copy of the CD that makes them obsolete. As of now, there is still no perfect electronic substitution that makes books and magazines obsolete. A lot of money and resources has been poured in and you have decent e-book readers and tablets that can simulate but not duplicate the book reading experience. Moreover, visit any Popular store and you noticed that more than 50% is buying assessment books. Another quarter is buying stationary and non-books/magazine items.

So I would surmise that Popular does not live and die by the book.

(Vested)

(Vested as well)

I certainly hope so. I use Kindle Dx, it is a pleasure to read, not like the LCD screen of Notebook/Tablet. But lack of colour, and slow scrolling, and lack of other functions are IMO hampering it's growth. However, the use of pdf or other e-book format in the future may take off. And as what Karl wrote above, more and more schools or even average citizens may start to adopt e-reading in the future. It's already affecting companies like SPH in terms of the ads it can sell, since more and more ads are going online.

[VestedInterest]

Reading books is a lifestyle thing. Suspect that it will take a few generations before it dies a natural death. Along with it will go the newspapers and all the libraries of the world in their current form.
However, reading will never die. Popular will just have to adapt to the needs of the reading population, whether it is in the hard copy form or the electronic form. In all likelihood it will have to offer the various medium for reading, which is going to be heterogenous- good thing is that they will not only sell the content but also the medium of delivering the reading material. It is not difficult to mimic the Amazon and Google, especially if you have the capital to do it.

Reading is really a lifestyle proposition- imagine yourself a good book on the beach under the shade of a coconut tree or sitting at starbucks, one hand holding a cappucino, the other holding a good book on the adventures of Warren Buffett.

[FFNow]

I still prefer to read the physical copy rather than reading off a pdf. Reading a physical book is more intimate and at least I can know/gauge how many more pages I have left to read in one look.

[pianist]

i am vested at 0.114 since 2008 and have not sold any popular shares yet..still waiting for a gd price to exit while enjoying its nice dividends..

[karlmarx]

borders would have been a good asset for popular to acquire.

Borders placed under judicial management

Steps taken to control costs including negotiating to halve its S$550,000 rent at Wheelock
by Tanya Fong
01:29 PM Sep 06, 2011
SINGAPORE - The High Court has placed Borders under judicial management for six months.

It was revealed in court that Borders had taken several steps to improve its financial situation, including negotiating the sale of Borders or its assets to Popular Holdings, and negotiating with Wheelock Properties to halve its rent at Wheelock Place from S$550,000 per month to S$275,000.

Under judicial management, Borders cannot be sued by any of its creditors. The company will explore options, such as talking to potential buyers to prevent winding up.

Borders is represented by law firm Allen & Gledhill. Said its leading counsel Edward Tiong: "There is still hope the name of Borders will continue as it has sentimental value for Singaporeans."

The company is also in negotiations REDgroup Retail - its parent company in Australia - to obtain a formal release from a A$2.5-million (S$3.2-million) loan from REDgroup.

Borders' fate was tied up with REDgroup's as the latter had become insolvent and placed under voluntary administration in Australia in February this year. According to court documents, this resulted in Borders "no longer being able to leverage on the economies of scale, established relationships or general advantages of operating as part of a larger group, as it previously had".

Borders will also be structuring a scheme of arrangement such that its employees, gift card holders and other creditors will be paid should its debt to REDgroup be written off and when it receives part of the proceeds from the S$2.15 million in rental deposits for its Wheelock and Parkway premises.

[kazukirai]

borders would have been a good asset for popular to acquire.

Yea, the location at Wheelock seems to have more walk-through traffic compared to their Prologue store right at the top of ION. And Popular's own HARRIS brand (which seems to me like it isn't taking off in a big way) doesn't seem to match up to the Borders' name.

[yeokiwi]

borders would have been a good asset for popular to acquire.

Yea, the location at Wheelock seems to have more walk-through traffic compared to their Prologue store right at the top of ION. And Popular's own HARRIS brand (which seems to me like it isn't taking off in a big way) doesn't seem to match up to the Borders' name.

I thought Popular business model is better than Borders.
So why should popular buy it? Provide community services?

There is a reason why Borders can't survive. Unlike Amazon and Barnes and Nobles, It failed to handle the decline in hardcopies' purchases and rise to the challenges of online ordering and ebooks.

Unlike Kino(jap supporters), it does not have a niche.

Without the niche in assessment books and exam crazy parents, it will be hard for popular to survive too.

[[DY]]

i doubt wheelock will want to rent to popular for another bookstore. i think i read somewhere that they are looking to rent that space to some retailer (along the likes of H&M). that space is highly visible and enjoys good frontage. a hip retailer would pull in the crowds, which would benefit its other tenants as well.

and i believe wheelock would be able to extract higher rentals from such a retailer tenant.

[karlmarx]

borders would have been a good asset for popular to acquire.

Yea, the location at Wheelock seems to have more walk-through traffic compared to their Prologue store right at the top of ION. And Popular's own HARRIS brand (which seems to me like it isn't taking off in a big way) doesn't seem to match up to the Borders' name.

I thought Popular business model is better than Borders.
So why should popular buy it? Provide community services?

There is a reason why Borders can't survive. Unlike Amazon and Barnes and Nobles, It failed to handle the decline in hardcopies' purchases and rise to the challenges of online ordering and ebooks.

Unlike Kino(jap supporters), it does not have a niche.

Without the niche in assessment books and exam crazy parents, it will be hard for popular to survive too.

this is true, i thought of this as well. there must indeed be some flaw somewhere in its business model for it to be where it is today.

as mentioned, it will be more economical for popular to acquire borders than to start their own premier bookshop - harris. they need not continue the lease at wheelock; i'm very sure there are more economical locations where borders' brand will still attract crowds.

it is also probably true that wheelock does not want another bookshop as its tenant. but it isn't about acquiring the location, but rather the franchise itself. armed with a new franchise, this will allow popular to break into new (up)market segments and give its senior management something to work on. and hopefully they will decide to ditch their property developing business.

popular has operational expertise in ensuring efficiency, when combined with an upmarket brand, may bring a turn around in profitability. of course, there is the possibility that popular's mass market retail management style may not suit the running of a lifestyle bookstore targeting more affluent consumers.

[dydx]

Popular's chain of bookstores in Singapore and Malaysia is successful and profitable because the operation has already attained a large scale, which brings certain cost advantages (in products sourcing for sure; and to some extent, in negotiating with various large landlords). Apart from having the largest number of outlets, there are other evidences that Popular already dominates the mass retail market segment for books & stationeries in Singapore and West Malaysia. A visit of Popular's local website.....
https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/index.jsp
, or pick up and review a copy of the latest "POPCLUB" bi-monthly customer magazine - more like a product catalogue to me! - available from any Popular bookstore, you will know what I mean. I believe most local households with school-going children have signed up the Popular Card and/or Popular Student Card, which accord discounts on purchases at Popular's various bokstores, and other membership privileges. Pay a visit to one of Popular's latest or larger bookstores (e.g. the 2 at Jurong Point), you will be surprised by the large array of merchandises being sold.

So we can quite safely say Popular's chain of bookstores enjoys solid support from the mass consumer market and a certain 'hold' on their customers.

Of course, we must not forget Popular's success also includes its well-established (1) textbook publishing business based in Hong Kong, and (2) assessment books and other general books publishing business based in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

In a surprise announcement today (7Sep11), Chairman's son Wayne Chou has resigned from his MD and ED positions, and reverted back to become a Non-Executive Director.....
http://info.sgx.com/webcorannc.nsf/Annou...endocument
Of course, it is not easy working for his father. But it will be interesting to find out who actually initiated Wayne Chou's exit.