Legendary Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village to shutter for good, ending 80-year run
PHOTO: Tamil Murasu
PUBLISHED ONMay 03, 2024 4:22 AMByAmierul RashidHaving been in business for more than 80 years and passed down three generations, Thambi Magazine Store is unfortunately set to shutter for good this Sunday (May 5).
For those who frequent the Holland Village area, it would be hard to miss this iconic newsstand located along Lorong Liput.
With operational cost rising and revenue dipping, one might think that this closure was due to the business making a loss.
However, the owner Periathambi Senthilmurugan, better known as Sam, told CNA in an interview that this was not true.
In fact, Thambi Magazine Store's impending closure was because Sam had been told to "reduce the size of his display area by half", CNA reported.
The 49-year-old owner chose not to reveal who had informed him so.
Since then, Sam has received offers to reopen his business at Orchard Road and Changi Airport.
But he turned them down in hopes of finding another ideal location in Holland Village that'll allow him to lay out his wide array of magazines.
In the meantime, Sam told CNA that he will continue with the newspaper distribution side of business at a makeshift location nearby.
How it started
Thambi Magazine Store began when Sam's late grandfather would distribute newspapers around Holland Village during the 1940s, Tamil Murasu reported.
This was pre-independence Singapore, and Sam's father had set up a shop offering foreign magazines to the Brits living in the area.
During the peak of its operations in the 1990s, Thambi Magazine Store would carry more than 7,000 titles from around the world, with topics ranging from automotive to architecture.
According to the Tamil publication, Sam—as the eldest son—took charge of the business when his dad fell ill.
It was renamed Thambi Magazine Store in honour of his father.
amierul@asiaone.com
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