Eight Singapore indie booksellers launch Bookshop.sg as Amazon alternative
Bookshop.sg, a new one-stop online bookstore, features more than 40,000 titles from local indie bookstores Epigram Books, Basheer Graphic Books, Wardah Books, Thryft, Sea Breeze Books, City Book Room, Union Book and Nurul Anwar Bookstore. ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
SINGAPORE – Singapore-based readers now have a convenient – and more socially conscious – way to buy books online, as eight local independent booksellers have banded together to launch a one-stop online bookstore featuring more than 40,000 titles.
Bookshop.sg, which opened for orders on May 14, is a booksellers' initiative which brings together fiction, non-fiction and children's titles across English, Mandarin and Malay. It is a joint effort by home-grown indie bookstores Epigram Books, Basheer Graphic Books, Wardah Books, Thryft, Sea Breeze Books, City Book Room, Union Book and Nurul Anwar Bookstore.
The online store will provide free local shipping for purchases above $150 – or charge a $5.90 fee for smaller purchases – while allowing readers to mix and match titles from across the eight bookstores, Thryft's chief executive Eddie Lim tells The Straits Times.
Mr Ibrahim Tahir, 51, founder of Wardah Books, adds: 'We are providing an alternative for people who are conscious about where their dollar is spent.'
He first gathered indie booksellers at his store on 58 Bussorah Street in December 2024 to discuss avenues of cooperation.
Bookstores are increasingly turning into 'showrooms' for customers who browse in-store, but opt to buy their books more cheaply from Amazon, says Mr Ibrahim, which harms the local literary ecosystem.
He cites a 2014 French law which imposed a minimum book delivery fee to protect indie booksellers against huge online retailers. There is no equivalent rule in Singapore.
Bringing indie bookstores together is an act of 'radical cooperation', he says, and offers an ethical choice to readers.
'The dollar that you spend in a local bookshop stays within the community. It drives things that we do such as book events, launches with local authors and book clubs. Amazon doesn't do that,' says Mr Ibrahim, who has run his bookstore in Kampong Gelam since 2002.
Mr Ibrahim Tahir, founder of Wardah Books, says Bookshop.sg provides an alternative for people who are conscious about where their dollar is spent.
PHOTO: ST FILE
In recent months, bookstore closures have dominated headlines. Chains like Times Bookstores exited the market in September 2024 after nearly five decades of operations, and indie bookstores like Epigram Coffee Bookshop shuttered its only physical store at Singapore Art Museum in January 2025 due to low traffic.
Epigram Books publisher Edmund Wee, who now sells books through an online bookstore, had convened a meeting with booksellers together with Mr Ibrahim during a testing time for the industry: 'The more outlets you have (to sell your books), the better it is for the bookseller. Every outlet extends your potential buyer, I don't see it as a competition.'
Mother tongue-language booksellers hope that the multilingual online bookstore can help English-language readers better discover books in other languages.
Mr Ang Jin Yong, 34, operations director of Sea Breeze Books, which sells Chinese-language books online, says: 'A common problem for our mother tongue publishers and booksellers is that our market is limited. But I still think that some of the English readers would want to read mother tongue books.'
For Ms Tan Waln Ching, 42, director of City Book Room, this initiative lays the foundation for future collaborations between booksellers. 'I would like to learn from other booksellers as well because we are usually very busy taking care of our shops.'
The eight booksellers that ST spoke to cite common challenges across the trade – predatory pricing by global conglomerates, the decline of literacy among young readers, the increase in children's screen time and dipping bookstore visitorship.
Ms Tan Waln Ching, director of City Book Room, says Bookshop.sg lays the foundation for future collaborations between booksellers.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Bookshop.sg, which is inspired by a similar initiative launched in the United States and United Kingdom in 2020, is the latest experiment by local booksellers to give a boost to the flagging trade.
In July 2024, ST reported that experimental book concepts such as pay-to-rent community library Casual Poet Library were cropping up to deal with Singapore bookshops' biggest killer – rental costs.
Mr Lim promises that Bookshop.sg – which is developed by Thryft – will provide an 'on par or better experience' than Amazon as users can currently browse books by genre and bookstore. The online store is looking to onboard more indie bookstores in the future and feature curated collections by booksellers as well.
Mr Ibrahim hopes the online store will also drive new readers to physical stores. 'For the ecosystem to survive, it needs to recognise that the keystone is the bookshop. The bookshop is what ties together publishers, writers and readers all in one space – and space is important because this is where human beings interact.'
He says Bookshop.sg will help 'reach the readers who want to look for books, but are not socialised into coming into a bookshop and go online to look for things'. He is cognisant, however, that it will not be able to address more structural problems: 'The question of the fall of readership is a much bigger question.'
Bookshop.sg (www.bookshop.sg) will host two booksellers panels at Thryft Hub, 120 Lower Delta Road, on May 31 as part of its launch. The free event, which requires registration, will see each bookstore showcase more than a dozen of its best titles.
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Independent Singapore
44 minutes ago
- Independent Singapore
Singapore subsidiary of Chinese state-owned company lays off 300 staff amid US sanctions
Photo: Freepik/ijeab (for illustration purposes only) SINGAPORE: The local arm of China Certification & Inspection Group (CCIC), a Chinese state-owned enterprise, has laid off approximately 300 employees and is undergoing liquidation following its addition to the U.S. sanctions list last month. The Singapore-based subsidiary, which is part of a wider group headquartered in Beijing, was sanctioned on May 15 alongside 14 other companies. The U.S. Treasury Department accused CCIC of aiding in the concealment of Iranian oil origins during cargo inspections, enabling shipments to China despite sanctions on Iran. Three employees who spoke anonymously to CNA confirmed that layoff notices were distributed on May 30, with the dismissals taking effect the following day. Two sources estimated that the group employs over 400 workers across Singapore and Malaysia, with more than 300 stationed in Singapore alone. Staff expressed frustration as they spoke to CNA about the delayed payment of May salaries and criticized the severance packages, particularly since many relied heavily on overtime pay and allowances to supplement their basic income. Several employees also expressed concerns about management's lack of transparency and accountability, claiming that senior executives had declined requests for meetings to address staff concerns. See also S'pore only Asian economy to contract? CNA reports that the company does not have union representation in Singapore. Despite this, some affected employees have since sought assistance from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Tripartite Dispute Mediation Alliance.
Independent Singapore
44 minutes ago
- Independent Singapore
Queenstown 5-room flat resold for S$1.66 million, setting new record
SINGAPORE: A five-room loft unit at SkyTerrace@Dawson has fetched a staggering S$1,658,888, setting a new record for the highest resale price of a five-room HDB flat according to official data released by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). The premium loft apartment, located on the 22nd to 24th floors of Block 92 Dawson Road, spans 122 square metres and is part of the highly sought-after SkyTerrace@Dawson development in Queenstown. The sale was completed earlier this month. Built under HDB's Build-To-Order (BTO) scheme as part of its efforts to rejuvenate mature estates, SkyTerrace@Dawson is known for its award-winning architecture, greenery-lined sky terraces, and proximity to amenities such as Queenstown MRT and Dawson Place. The unit is approximately nine years old and still has 89 years and 11 months left on its 99-year lease. While the sale marks a new high in HDB's public resale transaction records for five-room flats, it falls just shy of an even higher-profile transaction from last year. In July last year, a five-room flat at SkyOasis@Dawson was reportedly sold for nearly S$1.73 million, drawing attention for being the priciest HDB resale flat on record. However, that sale doesn't show up in HDB's official transaction database. Such high resale prices have sparked ongoing debate. As more million-dollar flats hit the market, questions about the affordability of HDB flats persist.
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Shein and Reliance reportedly aim to sell India-made clothes abroad within a year
[MUMBAI/LONDON] Fashion retailer Shein and partner Reliance Retail plan to rapidly expand their Indian supplier base and start overseas sales of India-made Shein-branded clothes within six to 12 months, said two people with knowledge of the matter. The China-founded, Singapore-headquartered e-commerce firm has been discussing plans with the Indian retailer since before the US imposed tariffs on Chinese imports that intensified the need to diversify sourcing, the people said. The aim is to raise Indian suppliers to 1,000 from 150 within a year, they said. In a statement to Reuters, Shein said it licensed its brand for use in India. Reliance did not respond to queries. Shein sells low-priced apparel such as US$5 dresses and US$10 jeans shipped directly from 7,000 suppliers in China to customers in around 150 countries. Its biggest market is the US where it is adjusting to tariffs on low-value e-commerce packages from China which were previously imported duty free. The retailer launched in India in 2018 but its app was banned in 2020 as part of government action against China-linked firms amid border tension with its northeastern neighbour. It returned in February under a licensing deal with the Reliance Industries unit which launched Shein India's website selling Shein-branded clothes produced in local factories. In contrast, Shein's other websites mainly list goods from China. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Reliance, controlled by Asia's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, has contracted 150 garment manufacturers and is in discussion with 400 more, said the two people, declining to be identified due to confidentiality concerns. The goal is 1,000 Indian factories making Shein-branded clothes within a year for both the Indian market and to service some of Shein's global websites, the people said. Shein initially wants to list India-made clothes on its US and British websites, one of the people said. Discussions have been ongoing for months and the launch time of six to 12 months could change depending on supplier numbers, the person said. The scale of supplier expansion and export time frame is reported here for the first time. Shein has licensed its brand for domestic use to Reliance which 'is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, sales and operations in the Indian market,' Shein said. In December, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal told parliament that the Shein-Reliance partnership aimed to create a network of Indian suppliers of Shein-branded clothes for sale 'domestically and globally'. On-demand manufacturing Shein is a fast-fashion behemoth earning annual revenue of over US$30 billion through low prices and aggressive marketing. Most of its products are from China with some made in countries such as Turkey and Brazil. Its expansion in India mirrors interest in the country from the likes of Walmart and others throughout the global fashion and retail industries, particularly those looking for suppliers outside China due to the Sino-US trade war. The Shein India app has been downloaded 2.7 million times across Apple and Google Play stores, averaging 120 per cent on-month growth, showed data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Offerings during its first four months have reached 12,000 designs, a fraction of the 600,000 products on its US site. In the women's dresses category, its cheapest item is priced 349 Indian rupees (S$5.24) versus US$3.39 on the US site as of Jun 9. Shein's Indian partner Reliance, which operates the app, is working with suppliers to assess whether they can replicate Shein's global best-sellers at lower cost, the two people said. Reliance aims to emulate Shein's on-demand manufacturing model, asking suppliers to make as few as 100 pieces per design before increasing production of those that sell well, they said. Executives from Reliance recently visited China to understand Shein's 'innovative' supply chain operations, 'data driven' design processes and 'disruptive' digital marketing, Manish Aziz, assistant vice-president Shein India at Reliance Retail, said in a LinkedIn post in which he called Shein's scale and speed 'truly incredible'. The partnership is one of dozens Reliance has with fashion brands, such as Brooks Brothers and Marks and Spencer. The firm also runs e-commerce site Ajio and its retail network competes with Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart as well as value retailers such as Tata's Zudio. Reliance plans to work with new suppliers to source fabric – especially fabric made using synthetic fibres where India lacks expertise – and import required machinery, the people said. The firm will invest in suppliers and help them grow which in turn will help the Shein-Reliance partnership go global, they said. REUTERS
