Popular Holdings

[violinist]

For those who read Mandarin:

http://www.zaobao.com.sg/fk/fk111029_001.shtml?jtss=fb

extract:
"其实，除了万里书局、金文泰书店和Computer Book Center，到目前为止今年停业的书局还有博德斯（Borders），而设在ION乌节楼上的大众书局，其中文部也已缩水，现在只卖儿童书。显然这一波的书店业关门风潮，中英文书店都受到冲击。"

[momoeagle]

10yrs later every sch will be using ipad 5 to replace paper.
That include home and tution ctr.
Lets hope by then it has enough to become a full pledge property developer.

Not vested

As a tutor, I will say that there are some aspects of education and learning which cannot be totally eliminated by any tablets at all.

The pen and the paper beats any other methods in many cases in terms of effectiveness, and this has not take into account that it is much cheaper than any tablets.

[Musicwhiz]

The pen and the paper beats any other methods in many cases in terms of effectiveness, and this has not take into account that it is much cheaper than any tablets.

Hi momo,

Just curious as to why pen and paper beats any other method in terms of effectiveness. I am an advocate of the old-school style of teaching (pen, paper, physical books) so of course I am happy to hear you say this, but could you explain please?

[momoeagle]

The pen and the paper beats any other methods in many cases in terms of effectiveness, and this has not take into account that it is much cheaper than any tablets.

Hi momo,

Just curious as to why pen and paper beats any other method in terms of effectiveness. I am an advocate of the old-school style of teaching (pen, paper, physical books) so of course I am happy to hear you say this, but could you explain please?

I believe we came from the old school. Let's take a short look at history before coming to effectiveness.

Long before tablets, computers were the rage. There were lots of talks on how the education industry, and how computers will eventually replace books and etc.

Fast forward 10 years plus, the same thing are being said about tablets. Lots of projects were done on using more and more computers, and I was a "beneficiary" as a student. However, I didn't learn well enough as computers are also sources of distractions. In addition, as an engineer as well, I would say the technical problems are aplenty although solutions do already exist, and while it does seem new and interesting, the fad doesn't last too long.

In fact, if one have kids, one would probably realise the computer and internet are mostly sources of information, mostly of which the student need to consolidate, and print out on paper. And this is years after computers have been introduced to the world as an educational tool.



Why I think pen and paper are still effective. The old Chinese adage, read more, listen more, write more. Writing is an important tool of learning, and typing, especially on tablets, just isn't as effective. It is especially so when students need to tackle exam questions on paper. Does anyone foresee O levels and A levels being done entirely on tablets or PCs in the near future? In all likelihood, I say no!

As an educator, I advocate that if you read textbooks all the time but not doing papers, you become good at reading, and not necessary doing of questions. It's like, to be good at running, you have to run more. To be good at investing, you have to start investing and doing it. Reading theories and having theories without applications doesn't work.

The same goes for learning. If exams are to be conducted using tablets and PCs, then learning via tablets and PCs, including worksheets and exams, make perfect sense. But exams are conducted on paper! What other better and more effective way to train and hone your questions answering skills by answering on paper can anyone think of? So, my mantra is, to be good at doing exams on paper, you have to practice on paper. Old school but works.



Will tablets or technology eventually replace paper totally? Probably way after I turned to dust.

[Jared Seah]

Momoeagle,

What you have written strikes a chord with me! We can't call it "writing" skill when it's "typing". LOL!
I myself have found that my writing skills have deteoriated dramatically after so many years of PC usage...

On a more serious note, for IT products to replace paper and pen, we need to solve 2 challenges:

1) access to stable power supply (battery or power sockets).

2) (affordable) access to wireless or wired internet

For books, we just need light energy and the ability to turn the pages. So at best, IT products are a good complement to books and pens. How many of us have experienced "loss" when we can't have access to internet or when our notebook has ran out of battery?

Receiving a letter or post card is different from receiving an email and digital postcard! At least to me!

[KopiKat]

SingTel to launch e-assessment books

FOLLOWING the launch of its e-book service - skoob - on Tuesday, Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) yesterday announced plans to launch an e-assessment materials service - Skoob Go-easel - in January next year.

In collaboration with Popular Holdings, the new service will offer assessment books and study guides for Singapore's primary and secondary school students via the Apple and Android tablets.

'We believe e-learning is the way of the future. Skoob Go-easel complements our traditional paper book business by providing a powerful digital platform to reach a wider audience,' said Chou Cheng Ngok, Popular's chairman.

Skoob Go-easel will provide students with an experience that is similar to using paper assessment materials. It will also be equipped with time-saving features such as auto-marking and score analysis, and can provide students with model answers.

In addition, teaching guides will also be made available to help parents actively support their children's learning. 'We believe Skoob Go-easel will change the way students prepare for exams and help them to save precious time. The service will also allow busy parents to keep track of their children's progress and performance more effectively,' said Goh Seow Eng, SingTel's chief of digital home.

Skoob Go-easel can be purchased using Singapore-issued credit cards, and SingTel customers may choose to have their purchases charged to their monthly bills.

The two listed companies said that they will explore ways to work with schools and the Ministry of Education (MOE) to offer a range of assessment papers, study guides and supplementary materials through the e-assessment service.

At the launch of skoob earlier in the week, Mr Goh said: 'We believe skoob's range of local study guides and educational books will be well received by school students, and we are looking to include assessment papers soon.'

He added that the telco is transforming from a provider of traditional telecommunications services to a multimedia solutions provider.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/comp...82,00.html

[valuenewb]

Chairman Chou was spotted at Popular Jurong Point this past Saturday checking out the range of books and the crowd. He was happily picking out some discount books.

Long queues are a common sight at this time of the year but it moved pretty fast.

[kazukirai]

I was at Prologue (also owned by Popular Holdings) on Saturday and observed the same long but fast moving queues. X'mas shopping season is definitely in full swing. Have to say, I think the closure of Borders @ wheelock has driven some business to Prologue based on my last couple of trips to Prologue. I'm one of them =P

(Vested)

[valuenewb]

Kino would be main beneficiary but of course Prologue competes in the same space and they will get the spillover.

However, I am not quite sure what is happening to Harris (its positioning etc). The store at JP has just been closed. I missed the closing down sale unfortunately.

(Not Vested)

[buddy]

I struggle to understand market valuations of this company. I use their last week results - Sept. end numbers as base. Popular has mkt cap of 135 mn, Cash 114 mn, Non Current Liab 16 mn. So I am paying EV of 37 mn for this company. As compare to this the value of Property shown in Current Assets is 60 mn. i ignore current liabs as ex cash Current Ratio is 1. So u r Buying publishing & Retailing Business for free. These business should conservatively make PAT of 12-15 mn $. Lets give them 5 times multiple which means 50% upside in the stock & has 7% div yield

PS : I have ignored 20 mn purchase of land by them post Sept results.

If u want bull argument on book selling business - today's New York Times has talked about retail book shops are having record sales in US.