Book and Popular Essay

1. Introduction democratic Holdings is a capital of capital of capital of capital of Singapore-based alliance that is listed on the Singapore Exchange. frequent is best kn bear for its chain of touristed intensitystores under the Retail and Distribution unit. The Group currently carries out its issue activities through subsidiaries operating in countries much(prenominal)(prenominal) as Singapore, Malayansia, Hong Kong, Macau, main(prenominal)land China and Canada. Its restrainshop operations consent a net incline of oer 90 popular take holdstores and 360 normal managed checkstores with its core businesses in retail, distribution, disobligeing and e-learning.2. History of the Company 1924 best-selling(predicate) started in Singapore under the trade name of Cheng Hing Company, anchored by the late Mr Chou Sing Chu. It distributed Chinese storybooks. 1930 Established World al grim Company in Singapore to distribute Chinese books and later locomote into the publis hing business. 1936 Established pop accommodate Company in Singapore to sell Chinese books. 1949 In incarnated World Publishing Company in Hong Kong to publish magazines and Chinese books for both(prenominal) local and Asiatic foodstuffs. 1952 Set up United Publishing brook Pte Ltd in Singapore and Malaysia to publish textbooks. 1975 Started religious erecting English titles in Singapore and was positi singled as The Bilingual Bookshop. blood line grew dramatically. 1984 Opened the first multilingual bookshop in Malaysia. 1990 Introduced the POPULAR razz to cultivate customer loyalty. 1993 Expanded the business scope by sell music products and audio accessories under the flaw name of CD-RAMA. 1997 Listed ordinary Holdings control (POPULAR) on the Singapore Exchange. 2000 Set up joint venture, EdnoLand (HK) modified, to permit interactive learning programmes to preschool children. This signified the start of the Groups e-learning initiatives. 2002 Entered the e-learning grocery store of Mainland China 2003 Incorpo graded a wholly- throwed subsidiary, best-selling(predicate) Digital products (Shenzhen) Ltd in January, sledding the first footprint in Mainland Chinas publishing grocery. 2003 Ventured into Taiwan publishing marketplace. 2006 successfully organized the inaugural BookFestSingapore and BookFestMalaysia, drawing over 400,000 visitors. 2008 Successfully organized the inaugural BookFestHong Kong 2008. 2009 Launched UrbanWritea vivificationstyle stationery senmagazinent store that goes beyond the basics. 2009 Opened a smart supposition bilingual bookstore prologue at ION Orchard. 2010 Celebrated the 5th anniversary of BookFestSingapore and BookFestMalaysia. some(prenominal) BookFests managed to achieve record turnouts of over half a gazillion visitors each. 3. heed Structure everyday Holdings has a centralized organizational structure. Mr Chou Cheng Ngok is the decision maker Chairman of the instru ment panel.In view of the Groups single leaders structure, Mr Vangatharaman Ramayah was appointed as the Independent Director to lead and coordinate the activities of non-executive directors in circumstances where it would be inappropriate for the Chairman to serve in much(prenominal)(prenominal) capa urban center. The Independent Directors, Mr Vangatharaman Ramayah and Mrs Lim curtly Tze ensure that there is a good equaliser of power and permit to enable independent exercise of bearing public opinion of corporate affairs. All major decisions made by the Chairman ar reviewed by the Audit Committee (chaired by Mr Vangatharaman Ramayah).The Nominating Committee (chaired by Mrs Lim Soon Tze) reviews his performance periodically and the Remuneration Committee (chaired by Mr Vangatharaman Ramayah) reviews his remuneration package. Hence, the Board believes that there argon adequate safeguards against an uneven concentration of power and authority in a single individual. For manag ement purposes, the Group is organised on a worldwide basis into business units based on their products and go, and has iv operating segments as fol wretcheds Retail and Distribution, Publishing and E-Learning, Property Development and Corporate.Ms Lim Lee Ngoh and Mr Poon Chi Wai Ponch ar the Executive Directors who argon in upkeep of the performance of the businesses. pic 4. Markets Served 4. 1 Countries Served As of 30 April 2012, hot had 148 bookstores 63 in Singapore, 70 in Malaysia and 15 in Hong Kong. Popular is the greatgest book retail merchant in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong (Chairmans Statement, one-year Report 2012). Popular is making immediate and extensive inroads into the Greater China market, especially in China and Taiwan. on that point have been marketing offices and subsidiaries set up in Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Taipei. 4.2 customer Groups Served Due to the various branches in its core business and the variety of products offered at reta il stores, Popular serves diverse customers of all ages, including students who constitute a bombastic portion of their customer base. Populars customers spew from individual consumers to corporate groups. 5. Products Offered Popular has its core businesses in retail, distribution, publishing and E-learning. As stated in the 2012 Annual Report, though the book business is often labelled a sunset application, retail and distribution of books are one of Populars watertight core businesses.Populars bookstores have products such as books (textbooks, assessment books, storybooks, reference books), CDs, DVDs, trainingal software, computer accessories, art materials, stationery, electronics, toys, games and gifts. 6. Recent carrying into action of the Company Popular bookshop has been achieving increase overturns for 3 consecutive years. As seen in Fig 1. 1, Popular achieved a turnover of S$439 one thousand thousand in 2011 in its Retailing and Distribution sector, improving from the past results of 2010 and 2011.The value in turnover in the Retail and Distribution segment is in the first place delinquent to 9 new outlets opening in various locations in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong and the book voucher programme held in Malaysia, where Malaysian students were each prone a book voucher worth RM$200 each as part of Malaysias government cypher in the educational activity sector. Also, the increase turnover is collectible to belittled be In 2010, Popular reduced approachs by cut clog up its retail store space from15200m2 in 2009 to 13700m2 in 2010. Its Publishing and E-Learning sector is doing well as well, with its turnover change magnitude from S$69 billion in 2011 to S$72 cardinal in 2012.Go-Easel is one of Populars initiatives which led to this increase in turnover. Go-Easel features digitalised assessment books which provides instant marking and step by step solutions. It gained popularity among students and parents imputable to its c ommodious and effective way in helping students academically. pic Profits ahead tax (PBT) in the Retail & Distribution of Popular Bookstore experience a plus growth as shown in Figure 1. 2, with PBT of S$29 million in 2012, improving from S$19. 1 and S$10. 9 million in 2011 and 2010 respectively. However, there was a drop in PBT in the Publishing & E-Learning sector, decreasing about 24.7%, from S$9. 7 million in 2011 to S$7. 3 million in 2012. This was due to the closing of one of its magazine distribution business due to restructuring. However, because this cloture is only a one-off cost, the prospects of the Publishing & E-Learning sector in Popular Bookstore still remains hopeful for future growth and greater pull ins. pic 7. Macro-Environment abridgment 7. 1 Political Forces Education policies implemented by the government give the gate improve Populars sales. For example, in Malaysia, as part of the budget al fit(p) by the government in 2012, ein truth student in Malays ia received a one-time book voucher worth RM$200.This policy led to greater outgo in bookstores by the Malaysian community. Popular was the biggest bookstore ships club with 70 bookstores in Malaysia, and so Popular experienced an change magnitude turnover in 2012. However, governmental regulations may limit remove and reduce profit for Popular Bookstore. The Media Development Authority in Singapore prohibits any trade of books, publication, audio materials that contains depicted object that may be objectionable on moral, racial or religious grounds, or deemed detrimental to Singapores case interest. (MDA, 2011) Thus, Popular Bookstore is restricted in their range of books and media as it has to fall out with these regulations, causing it to lose some of its competitive edge to online E-books retailers. Book readers in Singapore may be able to barter for the restricted materials from these retailers, as these retailers are based overseas and are not restricted by the Sing apore law. 7. 2 Economic Forces The comparatively high inflation rate in Singapore (4. 1%) and Hong Kong (4.0%) in 2012 and the bleak worldwide economic outlook is fortunately, not much of a stumbling block for Popular Bookstore, with it achieving positive growth in its Retail and Distribution sector. This could in addition be attributed to the items that Popular sells, which are mostly books (Eg. Assessment books, textbooks)and stationery. The demand for these items has a small, positive value of in contend-elasticity because they are necessities and normal goods for students. Hence, a decrease in incomes due to poor economic conditions results in a little than proportionate decrease in demand for Populars books , thus Popular has not been badly affected.7. 3 Social Forces In todays world, umteen deem education as an important tool towards a correct paying job and a better life. Thus, the spending on education, which includes spending on textbooks, stationery and assessment bo oks, is change magnitude. For example, in Singapore, the consumer spending on education has been increasing at a steady rate, from US$ 84. 1 million in 2008 to US$155. 4 million in 2011. (GMID,2012). This shows that Singaporeans are increasing willing to spend on education-related items, such as textbooks and assessment books, to concomitant the learning.As a bookstore with a niche product market of assessment books and textbooks, Popular Bookstore is able to benefit from this dis daub of increased spending in education. With the relatively high inflation rates, especially in Singapore and Hong Kong, consumers are becoming much value conscious. Popular Bookstore has done well to cater to the demands of the consumers and projecting a value for coin image, by offering rank cards and promotions on their items on a regular basis. One of such promotions is the back-to-school promotion, al paltrying students and their parents to corrupt stationery and books at discounted costs.7. 4 Technological Forces The increasing connectivity of the Internet island wide (e. g. 4G mobile network and OpenNet in Singapore) has led to more online consumers. The size of the online shopping market is large, reaching S$1. 1 billion in 2010, and is expected to reach S$4. 4 billion in 2015. (Techinasia, 2011). This could possibly convey that customers who usually purchase from brick-and-mortar shops analogous Popular would instantly shop at online bookstores such as amazon or Barnes & Noble. While Popular does have an online bookstore, it is not well-known or often-used.Thus, the presence of well-established international online bookstores become a substitute to Popular Bookstores. Also, the affordability of e-books piece of ass pose a threat to Populars sales of hardcopy books. The hurt of extract Fire, an e-book reader manufactured by amazon, dropped to US$159, making it more affordable for consumers. Amazon uses the pricing strategy of loss leader, which involves setti ng the price of Kindle Fire at cost price, and making significant profit from the sale of e-books. in that respectfore, e-books have now become a substitute of hard-copy books, such as those sold by Popular.7. 5 Legal Forces The introduction of the rotter Law in Singapore in September 2012 could affect Popular Bookstores. With the lemon law, consumers can ask for an reciprocation or even a full refund if goods do not meet standards of quality and performance. (CASE, 2012). This could mean decreased earnings for Popular Bookstore if consumers keep returning to the bookstores to qualify their purchased goods. Without proper enforcement or monitoring, the Lemon Law could even be mistreat by consumers who repeatedly demand for an exchange or refund, leading to a loss of efficiency and profits.However, Popular is un the likely to be threatened by the Lemon Law, as it already has an exchange policy in place, where it allows its customers to exchange faulty products within 7 days of purchase. 7. 6 Impact of Macro-Environment Forces on Popular Bookstores Popular Bookstore still remains a unbendable name in the book industriousness. The fact that it has the majority of the market distribute in Singapore and that the companys PBT has been steadily increasing proves that the company has been staying competitive despite the huge number of macroenvironment factors it faces. 8. Market, Industry and Competitive summary for Book Buyers in SingaporeOur selected market is the market of book buyers in Singapore. These include customers who buy books from both material bookstores and online bookstores. 8. 1 Market surface The market for book-buyers is that of an oligopoly, with few incumbent familys. Hardcopy book format is still a multi-million dollar industry in Singapore going strong in the face of bulletproof controversy from online book stores. The total market size of brick-and-mortar stores is worth around $165million. In 2011, Popular Bookstores hold about 6 2. 5% of the total market share, with Kinokuniya (25%) and Times Bookstores (12. 5%) as Populars main competitors. 8. 2 Market Trends.Popular Bookstores is still experiencing a emergence trend as its value sales grew from $4,106 million in 2006 to $5,107 million in 2011. This may be due to the growing affluence of the Singaporean population, resulting in higher(prenominal) demand for books for both leisure reading and education. However, this trend might not continue in the future. This is in light of stiff argument faced from e-books and online stores such as Amazon, Book Depository. Fortunately, Bookstores like Borders and page One have all exited the Singapore market and thus there is slight competition from these large, well-established firms with Popular Bookstores.8. 3 Industry SWOT compendium for Book Buyers in Singapore Positive consummation Negative Effect InternaStrengths Weaknesses l Popular has a widespread chain of stores throughout Singapore, little variety o f books as compared to opposite bookstores such as Factorsespecially in the heartlands. This makes it very accessible and Kinokuniya convenient for the customers. Lack of awareness of its online bookstore extensive range of textbooks and stationery with very strong monopoly power Limited superior of books on its online bookstore (e.g. Twilight, over assessment books and textbooks Lord of the Rings, Animal Farm) being of prologue and Epilogue ( a book cafe located in scummy interface (Survey, 2012) of online bookstore prologue ) to provide an alternative book-buying experience a overboldAbsence of a proper feedback system on its online bookstore defacement of book retail therapy, distinctively designed to give a bespoke Under-utilization of Facebook page resulting in inactivity and multifaceted lifestyle experience.unresponsiveness prologue was awarded the Premium Service GEM Award for the Books and Stationery Category by the Singapore Retailers Asso ciation in recognition of POPULARs sudor in delivering excellent customer service. (Chairmans Statement, Annual Report 2012) ExternaOpportunities Threats l Growing incomes of book-buyers lead to greater demand for books forLocal brick-and-mortar competitors such as Kinokuniya are trying Factorsleisure and education to improve their presence by setting up a fourth store in Jurong galore(postnominal) of the sign audience are tech-savvy but have yet to purchase East MRT (JEM) to reach out to more customers. e-book readers such as Kindle or Nook Due to technological advancement, the Popularity and accessibility Well-established firms like Borders and rascal One have previously left of online bookstores (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository) and the Singapore market, reducing the amount of competition e-books is decreasing the demand for hardcopy books at carnal stores 8.4 Detailed Industry Analysis of Bookstores Physical Stores Online Stores Kinokuniya Sec ond-hand Bookstores Amazon/Barnes & Noble Book Depository Description Kinokuniya bookstores are located in central city Various second-hand bookstores in Singapore Both Amazon and Barnes & Noble are American online retail Book Depository is a UK-based locations, with its flagship store located at Ngee Ann sell many classic and contemporary titles at giants narrow down in selling books in both hardcopy and independent online bookstore City. Kinokuniya offers a wide range of titles and likewise a extremely low-cost prices.e-book formats. They are grouped discussed together in this which sells in the first place hardcopy cafe within its store. thither are many second-hand bookstores in Brastable due to their similar characteristics. formats. Basah intricate. (Eg. Evernew Bookstore, Pro Saint Bookstore, Book Point, Knowledge Book Centre) Strengths Offers a wide infusion of titles in various languages Extremely cheap prices will attract They own an ecosystem of their own through their Kindle and Provides free shipping services, including English, Chinese, Japanese, French, and German consumers sounding for a good read.Nook tablet products that allow readers to buy e-books and which allows prices of books to Successfully marketed itself as a premium bookstore in Good for insouciant reading, if the reader is notdownload it to their tablet reader immediately. remain cheap Singapore with majority of its stores in the city area. looking for a particular(prenominal) title Online stores result in decreased operational fixed costs suchOccasional discounts of up to 90% Niche market charge on casual book readers as rental charges and staffing costs compared to makes books very cheap Premium social status strategy i.e. More expensive membership brick-and-mortar stores. Therefore, they are able to sell card ($21) offering limited discounts to invite consumers both e-books and hardcopy formats at a discounted rate. to purchas e more titles to get back their moneys worth. Extremely wide collection of titles. It is easy to try for titles because the search process is automated. Weaknesses Books are priced higher than its competitors due to its Limited range of titles, especially newer Penetration of their respective ecosystems are not widespread It is relatively unknown to the premium home runing and higher rental costs in the city titles, consumers looking for specific books in Asia crowd in Singapore. Limited market penetration due to its limited number of may not be able to think what they want. Shipping costs and waiting time negates the benefits of online stores. shopping as price of shipping from America is usually high. Asian titles are not as diverse / rich as they are America-based. 8. 5 Competitive Analysis Using Porters five dollar bill Forces 8. 5. 1 Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants in the physical bookstore industry is relatively low because t here are low barriers to entry. This is due to strong customer loyalty to established players like Popular and Kinokuniya dominating the market, high sunk costs and economies of scale setting in late.Also, the book industry is besides deemed as a sunset industry, which is less attractive to firms as this is associated with low profitability, so firms are less likely to enter the market. However, these low barriers to entry only apply to the industry of physical bookstores. Popular still faces a different kind of competition from online bookstores, which are close competitors with physical bookstores. 8. 5. 2 Degree of Substitutes There is a high degree of substitutability.In monetary value of physical bookstores, book buyers in Singapore have many alternatives to turn to such as big industry players like Kinokuniya and Times and second-hand stores at Bras Basah Complex. Kinokuniya and Times are strong competitors because they offer a greater variety of books from different countr ies, and have marketed themselves as premium bookstores due to their location in the city area. Second-hand bookstores at Bras Basah Complex (Eg. Evernew Bookstore, Pro Saint Bookstore, Book Point, Knowledge Book Centre) are also a threat because they offer very cheap books.Besides physical stores, online bookstores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Book Depository are dominating the book-buying market in Singapore. These online bookstores offer a quick and easy way to purchase books without being physically at the store, and the benefit of having purchases delivered to customers doorsteps. E-businesses can also offer more competitively-priced books than Popular because there is no need to pay for rental, which takes up a huge proportion of fixed cost. For example, Amazon sells a book titled Act of Valour at $9. 99, whereas Popular sells the same book at $17.00. Furthermore, with an increased access to fast and free internet services such as those offered by WirelessSG, and the availa bility of safe and convenient electronic payment, e-businesses are becoming closer substitutes to physical bookstores than ever before. 8. 5. 3 Bargaining Power of Buyers The bargaining powers of buyers are relatively low in terms of physical book stores. They have little access to learning such as the prices of books, because physical bookstores do not openly publish their prices online, except when there are promotions.Also, most bookstores located in a certain region would sell books at similar prices, so customers who are unwilling to travel would have a low tendency to take turns to other physical bookstores if the switching cost exceeds the savings gained from only just about cheaper books. However, the increased popularity of online bookstores is likely to increase the bargaining power of buyers. Buyers become less dependent on existing channels (ie. Physical bookstores) and can now switch to purchasing books online instead. 8. 5.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers There is lo w bargaining power of suppliers. In terms of the book-buying market, Popular Bookstores suppliers are mainly publishing firms. Because there are many suppliers in the market that deal in publishing work, there is a low supplier to firm ratio. This means that Popular Bookstore can switch suppliers easily. Furthermore, there is low switching costs for Popular because they can easily turn to their own subsidiaries such as Novum Organum Publishing House Pte Ltd and Educational Publishing House Pte Ltd.Also, there is low supplier competition because it is hard for suppliers to vertically immix and sell the products to buyers directly. Therefore, suppliers have a low bargaining power, which strengthens Populars position and authority. 8. 5. 5 Degree of Market Rivalry Amongst Existing Competitors There is a strong intensity of market rivalry amongst existing competitors like Times, Kinokuniya, and second-hand bookstores. This is because there is a lot of room for specialisation in terms of the four elements in the marketing mix.Product differentiation can come in the form of the variety of books, in terms of the subject topic and country of origin. Price differentiation can also be record as some bookstores have higher priced books due to their well-known brand name or location. Place differentiation can be in terms of the store environment and store location, while promotion differentiation can be in terms of level of advertising, frequency of discounts, customer access to publicity materials and staff service standards.Therefore, bookstores face much competition amongst themselves because there are so many ways that they can spot themselves in providing the optimal book-buying experience for book-buyers in Singapore. 9. Customer Analysis and naval division for Book Buyers in Singapore 9. 1 Customer Profile Book Buyers in Singapore The selected market of focus for Popular is book buyers in Singapore. Potential book buyers are any literate customers in the cou ntry, from 6 years-old onwards (Stuart, 2010).This customer base is continuously growing, albeit at a muffled rate due to the low fertility rate in Singapore (Wong, 2012). Majority of Singaporeans are literate (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2012) as they have basic first education which is mandatory for all citizens (Ministry of Education Singapore, 2011). In addition, an influx of overseas talents from other countries to support Singapores infrastructure and economy (Yeoh & Lin, 2012) also increases the number of book buyers in Singapore. The incomes of book buyers can be inferred from the Singapore Department of Statistics.The average monthly household from work including employer CPF contributions among resident employ households in 2011 was S$9,618, while the average monthly household income from work per household member including employers CPF contributions among resident employed households was S$2,925. These incomes have a generally increasing trend from past years , and were the highest in 2011, reflecting the increasing affluence of book buyers. Because books are normal goods, an increasing income of customers would increase the demand for books.However, since the selected market of focus is solely referring to individuals, businesses or organizations are not include and revenues are not considered. To develop an effective marketing strategy, it is essential to visualize the manoeuvreed customer base and its segments. Comprehensive profiles of a companys target customers are often required, and this is done by expending resources to segment these target customers. Book buyers can be segmented according to demographic and psychographic factors. 9.2 Demographic Segmentation Popular segments its market by key variables such as gender, age, education, race, nationality and the family life cycle. For the appointment variable of gender, books relating to beauty and the domestic battleground such as recipe books cater more to women, while the musical style of sports and cars appeal more to men. In terms of age, segmentation is characterized by ones life cycle, as exemplified by pre-school books, children books, teenage fiction and magazines, crowing fiction and self-help books, etc.The companys philosophy of knowledge and education (Chua, 2010) has been manifested in the common sentiment that Populars niche is in assessment books and textbooks (Survey, 2012) and is a large portion of the customer base of book buyers. This demonstrates how the market is segmented by education, as books are tailored to the necessitate of students in each stage of education primary, secondary and tertiary, and also for students in different disciplines business, finance, management, etc. The market is also segmented by race, as there are books in different languages such as English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.The variety of books in the Singapore & South East Asia and Asian Collections also show that the market is simultaneously segmented by nationality as well. Finally, the family life cycle is also an important variable as Populars books cater to the needs of different families at different parts of the cycle, providing books on sports and leisure for families without children, and books on parenting and health for families with children, etc. 9. 3 Psychographic Segmentation The identification variables of personality, lifestyle and social class also come into play for the selected market of book buyers.Based on the variety of genres provided by Popular such as fiction, classics and literature, comics and humour, astrology and new age and self-improvement, it can be seen that Popular designs its catalogue to appeal to different people with distinct personalities. Likewise, in the culturally diverse Singapore with an inherent cosmopolitan lifestyle, Popular recognizes the importance of meet the needs of various individuals by offering a selection of books for all lifestyle, such as books on cooking or food and wi ne, clear and nature, photography, travel, etc.The different social classes have also ledto Populars expansion in the market, as illustrated by the novel brand of book retail therapy seen in prologue (Popular Holdings Limited, 2009) to cater to the higher-income class, which has an upscale identity that is quite a different from the family-oriented, fluorescent-lit heartlander look and feel that Popular bookstores have come to support (Lui, 2009). 10. Marketing Objectives Populars main objective is to establish a strong regional presence by becoming a primaeval Clearing House for both English and Chinese books in the Asia peace-loving Region (Populars strategic Vision 2012).As such, their marketing objective is to offer a wide variety of books with given(p), unique, and good quality content at value-for-money prices. (Populars Strategic Vision, 2012). Next, Popular aims to differentiate itself from both brick-and-mortar bookstores and online bookstores which both serve the same book-buying market. This is especially important because Popular is in an oligopolistic market and faces strong competition. These brick-and-mortar bookstores include the well-established Kinokuniya, Times and Big Bookshop, and second-handbook stores, while online bookstores include Amazon and Barnes & Noble.Thus, Populars marketing objective is to capture a big market share through differentiation. Lastly, in terms of the variety of books, Popular aims to be the largest and most innovative publisher of bilingual books (Populars Strategic Vision, 2012). It attracts publishers like Seashore Publishing (M) Sdn. Bhd. to Singapore, which dominates the market for bilingual cookbook and general-interest mandarin orange tree books. Through its books, Popular also intends to promote the Chinese language, heritage and culture.For instance, Popular organised the National Chinese Creative Reading Competition during the BookFestSingapore 2011 to make students more aware of and stimulate t heir interest in Chinese culture and heritage through creative reading (Chairmans Statement, Annual Report 2012) 11. Marketing Strategy / Mix 11. 1 Branding and positioning Popular portrays an image that it is a one-stop station where consumers are able to find whatever they need. This image is especially relevant since Populars main target group is the masses who usually read best-selling books written by well-known authors.To capture a larger consumer market and establish a strong regional presence, Popular has also ventured into overseas markets such as Malaysia, Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. 11. 2 Price Popular has adopted different pricing strategies for Popular and Prologue. Prologue has adopted a premium price position for their products. This strategy of prestige pricing is appropriate as Prologue is targeted at the higher end consumers who would be willing to pay higher prices. On the other hand, Popular has adopted mainstream price position for their products.The products offered by Popular is at a rather affordable price since it is mainly targeting the majority of the population. Furthermore, Popular offers products at competitive prices compared to other bookstores. With its membership card, Popular offers further discounts on the prices of its products and this further enhances its competitiveness in the industry. In addition, Populars membership card can be acquired at a low cost (e. g. $20 for 3-year membership for students), as compared to other bookstores, such as Kinokuniya ($55. 60 for 3-year membership).11. 3 ProductPopular believes that in order to stay relevant with changing consumers taste and preferences, they should continue to innovate by selling new products. Hence, in 2009, Popular opened UrbanWrite and prologue . UrbanWrite, a lifestyle stationery concept store that goes beyond the basics, offer slightly different products such as scrap book materials, stationaries that are not available at Popular Bookstore. With new c oncept stores under Popular, such as prologue and UrbanWrite, it is pertinent to ensure that Popular does not lose its identity as a one-stop station to avoid confusion amongst its consumers.