Popular Bookstore closing Jurong Point, VivoCity

Popular Bookstore is shutting two Singapore mall outlets and shifting part of its footprint to Hougang. The retailer will close its VivoCity store after Aug. 16 and its Jurong Point store after Sept. 13, according to a report by The Straits Times on Aug. 6. The newspaper said the closures were tied to the malls’ retail plans. It also reported that Popular will reopen at Hougang Mall on Sept. 4 after renovations. ### Which Popular stores are closing, and when do they shut? The VivoCity outlet will close first, with operations ending after Aug. 16, The Straits Times reported on Thursday. The Jurong Point outlet will close later, after Sept. 13, according to the same report. (straitstimes.com) Popular’s own store locator still listed Jurong Point on Aug. 6 at 1 Jurong West Central 2, #B1-41, Jurong Point Shopping Centre. The listing shows the chain continues to operate a broad Singapore network, including Heartland Mall Kovan in Hougang, even as it prepares the Hougang Mall reopening. ### What is happening before those stores close? (straitstimes.com) Moving-out sales are already under way at VivoCity and will run through Aug. 16, The Straits Times said. At Jurong Point, the moving-out sale is scheduled from Aug. 14 to Sept. 13, the report said. (popular.com.sg) Third-party sale listings published this week also advertised the VivoCity clearance event, describing discounts tied to the store’s closure. Those postings match the Aug. 16 end date reported by The Straits Times, though the newspaper remains the primary source for the closure timetable. (straitstimes.com) ### Where is Popular reopening instead? Hougang Mall is the next location in the chain’s reshuffle. The Straits Times reported that Popular plans to reopen there on Sept. 4 after renovation works. Popular’s website did not surface a Hougang Mall entry in the store locator results available on Aug. 6, which is consistent with the reopening being scheduled for a future date rather than already operating. (straitstimes.com) The site does list another Hougang-area branch at Heartland Mall Kovan. ### Why are the Jurong Point and VivoCity outlets closing? (straitstimes.com) The Straits Times said the two outlets are closing because of the malls’ retail plans. The report did not, in the excerpt available, detail what those plans were or whether either space would be taken by named replacement tenants. (popular.com.sg) Neither Jurong Point nor VivoCity mall operator statements were available in the material reviewed here. Popular’s publicly accessible website pages also did not provide a separate closure notice beyond its store and promotions pages. ### What should shoppers watch next? Sept. 4 is the next fixed date in the timeline, when The Straits Times said Popular will reopen at Hougang Mall after renovations. (straitstimes.com) Before that, the VivoCity moving-out sale runs until Aug. 16, and the Jurong Point sale is set for Aug. 14 to Sept. 13. (popular.com.sg)