For book lovers in Singapore, it will soon be the end of an era. Singapore-based independent book publisher Epigram Books announced on Thursday (Sep 19) that it will be shutting down its only brick-and-mortar store, Epigram Coffee Bookshop on Jan 26, 2025.
Citing low foot traffic and sales for the closure, Epigram said in a statement that the decision came "after years of battling low visitor numbers and limited accessibility".
Edmund Wee, a publisher at Epigram Books, added: "We tried everything to make this work...Over the past three years, we’ve often asked ourselves, how many people even knew our bookstore existed here, let alone visited?"
Previously known as Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop, the store was originally located at the Urban Redevelopment Authority Centre on Maxwell Road. It was the first bookstore in Singapore dedicated to selling only books by Singaporean authors, about Singapore, or published in Singapore.
The store moved to its current location at the Singapore Art Museum in March 2024.
For now, the store has no plans to move to another physical location. Instead, it will focus on online sales after Epigram Coffee Bookshop's closure.
“Unless rent prices relent out there, it’s unlikely we’ll move into another space,” said Wee.
Book lovers in Singapore recently also had to contend with the news that the last Times Bookstores outlet in the country is closing. The last day of operations for the Jelita Shopping Centre outlet is Sunday (Sep 22).
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Citing low foot traffic and sales for the closure, Epigram said in a statement that the decision came "after years of battling low visitor numbers and limited accessibility".
Edmund Wee, a publisher at Epigram Books, added: "We tried everything to make this work...Over the past three years, we’ve often asked ourselves, how many people even knew our bookstore existed here, let alone visited?"
Previously known as Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop, the store was originally located at the Urban Redevelopment Authority Centre on Maxwell Road. It was the first bookstore in Singapore dedicated to selling only books by Singaporean authors, about Singapore, or published in Singapore.
The store moved to its current location at the Singapore Art Museum in March 2024.
For now, the store has no plans to move to another physical location. Instead, it will focus on online sales after Epigram Coffee Bookshop's closure.
“Unless rent prices relent out there, it’s unlikely we’ll move into another space,” said Wee.
Book lovers in Singapore recently also had to contend with the news that the last Times Bookstores outlet in the country is closing. The last day of operations for the Jelita Shopping Centre outlet is Sunday (Sep 22).
Continue reading...