Periathambi Senthilmurugan always imagined he would run his business until his last breath. In fact, the 49-year-old, better known as Sam and the owner of Thambi Magazine Store at Holland Village, once proclaimed to his wife: “If I die in the shop with a magazine in my hand, that will be the most beautiful moment. I am that into magazines."
But the iconic newsstand along Lorong Liput – with over 80 years of history spanning three family generations since his late grandfather P Govindasamy started it as a newspaper distribution service in the 1940s – will officially close up shop at the end of Sunday (May 5), he told CNA Lifestyle.
The decision was still clearly a sore spot for Sam when we visited his shop on Thursday afternoon. Even though overheads have increased since he took over from his late father, G Periathambi, and revenue has dipped, he shared that he is not making a loss.
Readership is still going strong too despite the array of material online, “unlike what the public thinks”, he added.
While things could be better compared with the heyday of print magazines when his store held over 7,000 titles, Sam decided to call it quits mainly because he was told to reduce the size of his display area by half, although he declined to mention who informed him.
Not being able to fully exhibit his magazines meant killing what he believes is the crux of buying and enjoying magazines. By removing half the display, he would “fail to display his product” and lose the walk-in crowd, which is a “major supporter”, he explained.
“When people pass by, they see the magazines (they like), they will buy. It’s not like they come for the magazines; most of them don’t know (a particular) magazine is still around.”
THE “BEAUTIFUL ART” OF MAGAZINE DISPLAY
At its core, Sam’s love for magazine display is really a love for his customers. He admitted to chiding his staff when they did not curate the magazines “properly”.
“If you know how to display, it’s a beautiful art. The customer will be carried away. Once they get carried away, that’s the secret of success,” he said.
This freedom for anyone to stop and browse when they spot an eye-catching magazine is also why he doesn’t intend to relocate indoors or to a higher floor. There have been location offers at Orchard Road and Changi Airport – but he has turned them down, holding out hope for another spot in Holland Village with reasonable rent and a non-negotiable “walkway” so he can continue laying out his magazines.
The way Sam sees it, a “successful magazine retailer” is one with space for a “full-view table top” display where customers can thumb through the magazines before buying them. Unlike other bookstores where magazines are sealed in plastic, the ones sold at Thambi are intentionally unwrapped.
When he started helping in the shop, the first thing he did was remove the plastic wrapping, much to his late father’s chagrin.
“(He told me that) these magazines are expensive – S$19, S$20. You must wrap it up, so it won’t be dirty, and customers will buy,” he recalled. “But if I (am a customer who) wants to buy, I must know what’s inside. So I told him, no wrapping.”
“PRINT IS DYING BUT PRINT IS NOT DEAD”
The strategy had worked. Now and then, Sam sees customers engrossed in a magazine or two, and knows he made the right choice.
Some of his notable customers over the decades have been ministers “in their shorts, quietly deep in thought”, he said with a smile. “Sometimes I scratch my head and think I’ve seen this guy somewhere … I approach them and talk to them, and they ask me how’s business.”
The current affairs aficionado, who counts The Economist as his all-time favourite magazine, often feels like he is “flying” when he sees these public figures at his store.
And for the curious, their chosen literature tends to be about current affairs and cars, Sam shared.
Then there are customers with family members in prison. They visit his store to find reading material for their incarcerated loved ones, he said.
“There are (customers at) both ends of the spectrum, so I get a totally different picture of what life is. It’s a learning journey for me.”
Despite having overheard younger customers’ surprise that magazines were still around, he doesn’t believe print will ever be gone for good.
“Print is dying, but print is not dead. It’s going to be a U-turn”, he said.
For now, Sam will continue with the newspaper distribution side of business from a makeshift "stand" nearby. Whatever magazines he is unable to sell by Sunday will be returned to his suppliers. He is determined not to “cheapen” the value of magazines by selling them at a discount, admitting that it would pain him far less to give out magazines “for free”.
But he hasn’t had the heart to break the news to customers that his shop’s familiar presence will be a thing of the past come Monday. He is still busy grappling with grief and sourcing for another spot so he can keep his family business alive.
“Even though I’m laughing outside, it’s really painful,” he said. “But I’m not out of magazines yet. I cannot be out of magazines. It’s in my blood.”
https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/living/thambi-magazine-store-holland-village-closing-389536
