Popular Holdings Limited, more commonly known as just Popular (stylized in all caps) or colloquially as the Popular Bookstore, is a Singaporean multinational bookstore chain. Aside from Singapore, it also has subsidiaries in countries such as Canada, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Taiwan, Malaysia, United Kingdom, and the United States.
During the financial year of 2011, it had a turnover of approximately S$735.9 million.[1]
Overview
The first Popular Bookstore was set up in 1924 by Chou Sing Chu in Singapore, initially focusing on retailing Chinese books and stationery. In March 2006, Popular Holdings was the main organiser of BookFest@Singapore, the first Chinese-language book fair ever held outside of China.[2]
In May 2006, Popular Holdings staged the inaugural BookFest@Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. It is a platform for established publishers to showcase their latest publications and renowned authors to meet and interact with the readers. The inaugural BookFest@Hong Kong was organized in 2008.