Chinese bookstore operator Commercial Press has ended its retail operations in Singapore, closing its last bookstore.

The store, at North Bridge Rd, was shut down after a century on the Singaporean retail scene, unable to make a profit in the modern digital era with customers increasingly heading online.

“The trend, even among Chinese book readers, is to go online and even if they wanted to buy a book, they are ordering it via the net,” said the company’s spokesperson.

The store’s demise follows the closures of its other bookstores in Singapore – Shanghai Book Company in 2008 and Chung Hwa Book Company in 1997.

While it is not ruling out the possibility of re-entering retail, the company said it will focus on wholesale and online orders for the meantime.

Commercial Press is a publishing company in China which is also engaged in wholesaling and retailing.

GB