Rental costs of Geylang Serai Ramadan bazaar are within market rates, say organisers

SINGAPORE - Organisers of the Geylang Serai Ramadan bazaar said that the rental costs of its stalls are within market rental rates.

They also said that they had announced on Jan 26 that the base rental rates for all stalls at the bazaar would be from $2,000 to $19,000.

Bazaar Raya Geylang Serai 2023, which is jointly organised by S-Lite Event Support, TLK Trade Fair and Events, and Enniche Global Trading, will end after 36 days on April 21, as compared to other trade fairs or bazaars that last between three and 30 days.

In a release late on Tuesday, the organisers said that the base rental for retail stalls ranged from $2,000 to $12,000, while the base rental for food stalls was between $14,000 and $19,000.

Those who wanted to sell Ramly burgers would have to pay a $4,000 premium on top of the $14,000 to $19,000 base rental, while stallholders selling kebabs were charged a base rental of $25,000.

The organisers had deemed the burgers and kebabs to be premium products, with 20 of the 150 food and beverage stalls selling them.

All food and beverage stallholders are also subject to incidental costs of between $30 and $3,100, including utilities, water supply, fans, coolers, and tables and chairs.

The organisers have limited the number of Ramly burger and kebab stalls in the bazaar, because if there were too many stalls selling the same product in the same zone, “it may lead to price wars which would be highly detrimental for the stallholders” and limit the options for visitors.

But the release added that there could be more than one stall selling either Ramly burgers or kebabs in one zone, though the organisers have spread them out.

“This information would be made known to them (the stallholders), including the requirement for them to pay the additional premium price,” the organisers said.

The Straits Times had previously reported that stallholders have had complaints regarding the high rental costs, and had received promises from the organisers that they would be the exclusive sellers of a certain food type in a particular zone.

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One kebab stallholder said he did not get the exclusivity he was promised after having forked out $24,000 for his stall, and had to compete with another kebab shop less than 50 metres away. The other kebab seller was also allegedly verbally told that there will be no other competitor in the same zone.

Many stallholders shared concerns about not being able to recoup their investment as they had to pay for the cost of utilities as well.

The organisers said on Tuesday that they had incurred additional costs to ensure that visitors have the best experience, by curating concept zones and setting up more than 1,000 dining seats and tables at the bazaar.

They also deployed more auxiliary police officers, closed-circuit televisions, and concrete blocks for additional security, which increased their costs this year.

“We would like to assure to all the stallholders that we treasure and appreciate the relationship and will put in our utmost ability on the various incidents which had surfaced in the past week,” the organisers said.

“We are in discussion with the relevant stallholders and shall resolve the matters amicably.”

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.