Popular Bookstore closing Jurong Point, VivoCity

Popular Bookstore is shutting two Singapore outlets and reopening in another mall, according to a report published Thursday by The Straits Times. The chain will close its stores at VivoCity and Jurong Point after moving-out sales, while opening a new outlet at Hougang Mall. The report said the closures were tied to mall retail plans. Popular’s store locator still listed Jurong Point as an active branch on Thursday, alongside a Hougang-area outlet at Heartland Mall-Kovan. ### Which Popular stores are closing, and when? The Straits Times reported on Aug. 6 that Popular will close its VivoCity outlet after Aug. 16 and its Jurong Point outlet after Sept. 13. Those dates line up with the moving-out sales now underway or about to begin at the two locations. (straitstimes.com) VivoCity’s sale began on July 31 and runs through Aug. 16, according to sale listings that surfaced ahead of the newspaper report. Jurong Point’s sale is scheduled to run from Aug. 14 to Sept. 13, The Straits Times said. ### Why are the Jurong Point and VivoCity outlets shutting? (straitstimes.com) The Straits Times said the two closures were happening “owing to mall retail plans.” The report did not give further detail on whether those plans involved tenant reshuffles, renovation works or lease changes at either mall. (straitstimes.com) Frasers Centrepoint Trust, which owns Hougang Mall and NEX, said in a separate Straits Times report last week that Hougang Mall is in the second phase of a revamp due for completion in September. That report said new tenants were being introduced as part of the mall refresh. Popular was identified in Thursday’s report as part of that next step at Hougang Mall. (straitstimes.com) ### Where is Popular reopening? The new store is set to reopen at Hougang Mall on Sept. 4, The Straits Times reported. That is more specific than the preliminary account circulating earlier, which said only that the chain would reopen later in Hougang Mall. (straitstimes.com) Popular already operates in the Hougang area through its Heartland Mall-Kovan branch at Blk 205 Hougang Street 21, according to the company’s store locator. The Hougang Mall opening would add another northeastern Singapore location as the chain exits the west-side Jurong Point branch and the HarbourFront-area VivoCity branch. (straitstimes.com) ### Are the discounts part of a formal clearance sale? Sale notices for the VivoCity branch advertised discounts of up to 90% off during the moving-out period. Those third-party promotion listings matched the Aug. 16 end date later reported by The Straits Times, though Popular’s own website did not appear to carry a public sale notice in the search results reviewed Thursday. (popular.com.sg) The chain’s official store pages still showed regular operating details for Jurong Point on Thursday. That suggests customers may continue to see the branch listed online until the sale period ends or the locator is updated. ### What does this change in practical terms for shoppers? For shoppers in Singapore, Aug. 16 is the last reported day of the VivoCity moving-out sale, while Sept. 13 is the final reported day for Jurong Point. (simideals.sg) The next confirmed milestone is Sept. 4, when The Straits Times said Popular plans to reopen at Hougang Mall after renovations. (straitstimes.com) (popular.com.sg)