Goodbye Thambi Magazine Store
The iconic newsstand along Lorong Liput in Holland Village, close on Sunday (May 5). The shop has had over 80 years of history spanning three family generations
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.”
Thambi newsstand closure is a lesson in appreciating the present
The closure of Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village last month replayed a familiar scene in Singapore. A beloved place, fondly remembered by multiple generations, decides to shut down after several years of declining demand and insurmountable obstacles.
Upon hearing about the imminent closure, Singaporeans would emerge from their social media activity caves to, well, indulge in more social media activity by filming, photographing and (albeit rightfully) bemoaning the loss of what they’d describe as yet another piece of Singapore's identity. Often, they’d also panic buy from the very places they had not patronised for decades. Because, as one would say in Singlish, “last chance mah”. Despite what appears to be a superficial engagement with the past, I believe that such last-minute action and reaction - and this is common throughout the world - is an indication of just how important the past, and heritage, is to people.
There is another viewpoint though, and that is that the loss of Thambi and other places like the old Raffles Junior College Mt Sinai campus is inevitable and, in some ways, necessary. It suggests that one must keep moving forward, and being sentimental about the past does not do anyone any favours. This view also casts progress (often economic) and pastness (often cultural) as polar opposites. The past, couched in feelings of nostalgia, lacks purpose and usefulness. This is especially so of places that are neglected or lack novelty for financial gain. Nostalgia becomes an enemy that stymies society’s evolution. Such a view is of course simplistic and does not recognise the very real value that the past has for our everyday lives. Many individuals and organisations, like the Singapore Heritage Society, have advocated for preserving monuments, institutions and places that are deeply connected to our Singaporean heritage.
'Such a shame': Longtime customers of Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village rue impending closure
Sam speaking with regular customers at Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village on May 3, 2024. They stopped by to see him after hearing that he was closing. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
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, flocked to the shop. 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 management corporation (MCST) about its reasons for requesting the magazine store reduce its display size. Repeated calls to the MCST office on Friday went unanswered.
'A universe of magazines': Meet the man keeping Holland Village's iconic Thambi Magazine Store going
Sam at his Thambi Magazine Store at Lorong Liput in Holland Village. (Photo: Joyce Yang)
You would be hard-pressed to find a magazine outside of hair salons, cafes, and aeroplane seat pockets in this day and age. That, and the iconic newsstand along Lorong Liput in Holland Village.
Periathambi Senthilmurugan, who prefers to be known as Sam, has dedicated his entire life to magazines. The 47-year-old runs Thambi Magazine Store, a family business with over 80 years of history. His shop is impossible to miss not only for its location, but also because it is probably the only roadside newsstand that stocks, according to Sam, nearly a thousand titles from all over the world. In its past life, Thambi Magazine Store was a newspaper distribution service. Sam’s late grandfather, P Govindasamy, started it in the 1940s and served British soldiers in its vicinity. “He would cycle to Selegie Road to collect the newspapers,” Sam explained, “and back to Chip Bee Gardens to distribute them to the villagers.”
Magazines only came into the picture when Sam’s late father, G Periathambi, took over. Back when foreign titles were not available in Singapore, he painstakingly sourced them from Malaysia for his mama shop. His humble shop in Holland Village would later form the backdrop of Sam’s childhood. “It was next to the Eng Wah open-air theatre, and we sold a lot of other things with magazines hanging here and there,” Sam recounted. “Those days, I would have my friends around here. It was a village atmosphere. We would come here, cycle around, play with marbles and fly kites.” Once the mama shop earned a reputation for its foreign titles, customer requests began to pour in. It was not long before magazines hailing from the states and across Europe found their place in Holland Village.
