On Thursday evening (May 2), Periathambi Senthilmurugan, better known as Sam, was “shocked” when longtime customers of his family business, Thambi Magazine Store at Holland Village, turned up in droves.
They came to express their well-wishes after CNA Lifestyle broke the news earlier in the day that the iconic newsstand would run its final day of operations on Sunday. The store has had over 80 years of history since Sam’s late grandfather started Thambi as a newspaper distribution service in the 1940s.
Sam had “underestimated” the number of readers, he recounted to us from his shop on Friday morning, which saw heavier footfall than usual. Many customers who stopped by to take photos and speak with Sam were still in shock, but were grateful that Thambi had been the place where they could always find what they wanted.
The influx of customers since Thursday also helped Sam sell several more magazines that he would otherwise have to return to his suppliers after his last day, the 49-year-old shared.
He had decided to call it quits after he was told to remove half of his magazine display along the walkway, as he believes allowing customers to look at the range of titles and casually flip through them is key to enjoying magazines.
Although he had declined to mention who instructed him, he clarified on Friday that it was “not any government agency”, following queries from well-meaning customers.
CNA Lifestyle understands that the walkway display in front of Thambi is within Holland Road Shopping Centre, a strata development, and has emailed its MCST office about its reasons for requesting the magazine store reduce its display size. Repeated calls to the MCST office on Friday went unanswered.
Sam speaking with his customers at Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village on May 3, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
A spokesperson for Birds of Paradise, a gelato boutique located beside Thambi, told CNA Lifestyle on Friday that they wanted to see how they could help Sam, at least in the interim, “especially as a neighbour occupying his former location”. The magazine store had taken up more space back in the day.
For now, Sam’s priorities are clear: An “outside space” to display his magazines “would be best”.
He also wanted to remind customers that he will still continue distributing newspapers from Monday at a nearby "stand".
News clippings of Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village are displayed alongside magazines. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
“WIDE RANGE” OF MAGAZINES
Several longtime customers, who bought magazines from Thambi since young, were impressed by Sam’s variety.
For Holland Village resident Dawn Lee, a fan of crocheting and fashion magazines, Thambi has always been a haven with its “wide range”. The 48-year-old said it was “such a shame” that the store was closing, as the titles she enjoys can be “very hard to find” and “sometimes don’t ship here”.
For instance, Sam carries gardening magazines from Australia, UK and US, she highlighted. “I think it’s quite (rare). Most people would have chosen just one, but he has covered three continents.”
Sam speaking with his customers at Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village on May 3, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
Sam arranging his magazine display at his store, Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village, on May 3, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
A former regular customer, Darien Loh, buys magazines from the airport whenever he flies, but he admitted its bookstores “only carry a few generic magazines” these days. At Thambi, where the 44-year-old was buying a couple of football magazines on Friday, “you get a really extensive collection”, he enthused.
Up till his late teens, Loh lived in Holland Village and would pop by the store by himself, mostly for comics and football magazines. When he visited Thambi during the pandemic to buy something for his daughter, he remembers being “surprised and happy” that the shop was still in business.
“The physical touch of the magazines, the smell... You can’t compare (that) to reading Kindle or even online... You have to be someone who loves to read, whether it’s books or magazines, to know that feeling,” he said.
While Loh was “shocked” by the news of Thambi’s impending closure, he respected Sam for “sticking to his principles”. He was also resigned to the trend of similar stores making way for modernisation.
“At least we know that Thambi is closing down. A lot of shops I know have just disappeared and I didn’t even know about it. So, I thought I’d just pop by today,” he added.
For Sam, the silver lining was seeing customers come to buy magazines – “not to give (him) a donation” just because he was leaving.
“There are still readers around and they choose magazines. It makes me happy,” he said. “This is what I want. I want customers to read hard copy. It touched the inner core of me.”
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They came to express their well-wishes after CNA Lifestyle broke the news earlier in the day that the iconic newsstand would run its final day of operations on Sunday. The store has had over 80 years of history since Sam’s late grandfather started Thambi as a newspaper distribution service in the 1940s.
Sam had “underestimated” the number of readers, he recounted to us from his shop on Friday morning, which saw heavier footfall than usual. Many customers who stopped by to take photos and speak with Sam were still in shock, but were grateful that Thambi had been the place where they could always find what they wanted.
The influx of customers since Thursday also helped Sam sell several more magazines that he would otherwise have to return to his suppliers after his last day, the 49-year-old shared.
He had decided to call it quits after he was told to remove half of his magazine display along the walkway, as he believes allowing customers to look at the range of titles and casually flip through them is key to enjoying magazines.
Although he had declined to mention who instructed him, he clarified on Friday that it was “not any government agency”, following queries from well-meaning customers.
CNA Lifestyle understands that the walkway display in front of Thambi is within Holland Road Shopping Centre, a strata development, and has emailed its MCST office about its reasons for requesting the magazine store reduce its display size. Repeated calls to the MCST office on Friday went unanswered.
Sam speaking with his customers at Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village on May 3, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
A spokesperson for Birds of Paradise, a gelato boutique located beside Thambi, told CNA Lifestyle on Friday that they wanted to see how they could help Sam, at least in the interim, “especially as a neighbour occupying his former location”. The magazine store had taken up more space back in the day.
For now, Sam’s priorities are clear: An “outside space” to display his magazines “would be best”.
He also wanted to remind customers that he will still continue distributing newspapers from Monday at a nearby "stand".
News clippings of Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village are displayed alongside magazines. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
“WIDE RANGE” OF MAGAZINES
Several longtime customers, who bought magazines from Thambi since young, were impressed by Sam’s variety.
For Holland Village resident Dawn Lee, a fan of crocheting and fashion magazines, Thambi has always been a haven with its “wide range”. The 48-year-old said it was “such a shame” that the store was closing, as the titles she enjoys can be “very hard to find” and “sometimes don’t ship here”.
For instance, Sam carries gardening magazines from Australia, UK and US, she highlighted. “I think it’s quite (rare). Most people would have chosen just one, but he has covered three continents.”
Sam speaking with his customers at Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village on May 3, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
Sam arranging his magazine display at his store, Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village, on May 3, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
A former regular customer, Darien Loh, buys magazines from the airport whenever he flies, but he admitted its bookstores “only carry a few generic magazines” these days. At Thambi, where the 44-year-old was buying a couple of football magazines on Friday, “you get a really extensive collection”, he enthused.
Up till his late teens, Loh lived in Holland Village and would pop by the store by himself, mostly for comics and football magazines. When he visited Thambi during the pandemic to buy something for his daughter, he remembers being “surprised and happy” that the shop was still in business.
“The physical touch of the magazines, the smell... You can’t compare (that) to reading Kindle or even online... You have to be someone who loves to read, whether it’s books or magazines, to know that feeling,” he said.
While Loh was “shocked” by the news of Thambi’s impending closure, he respected Sam for “sticking to his principles”. He was also resigned to the trend of similar stores making way for modernisation.
“At least we know that Thambi is closing down. A lot of shops I know have just disappeared and I didn’t even know about it. So, I thought I’d just pop by today,” he added.
For Sam, the silver lining was seeing customers come to buy magazines – “not to give (him) a donation” just because he was leaving.
“There are still readers around and they choose magazines. It makes me happy,” he said. “This is what I want. I want customers to read hard copy. It touched the inner core of me.”
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