Stall owners set up in spaces apart from Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar, as competition for customers heats up

SINGAPORE: Some stall operators are choosing not to depend on sales just at the annual Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar this year, amid challenges in covering the costs of operations. 

For instance, founder of the The Original Vadai Stephen Suriyah has rented two booths in one location, instead of the four he took up at different parts of the bazaar last year despite the lower rental costs this year. 

The vadai shop owner is paying S$15,000 (US$11,000) per booth this year, about S$3,000 less than what he paid in 2023.

His reluctance to take up more space comes from losing over S$100,000 last year, he told CNA. 

He added that the low price of his items means he needs to produce a large amount so the stall can make money. 

“I'm selling (vadai) for about S$1.30 per piece. So even if I sell 1,000, it's only S$1,300. That doesn't even cover my rental and manpower costing (per day) for this year,” he said, adding that the situation is different for others who may sell items that cost S$10 each. 

“We really need to hit the quantity just to cover everything and make a little bit of profit."

CHALLENGES FOR BUSINESSES 

He has plans to staff his booths better so that customers do not have to wait for the usual 45 minutes to get their snacks. Instead, he wants to ensure he can serve them within 20 minutes. 

Another challenge businesses said they have is that despite the high footfall - over 2 million visitors last year - it did not translate into sales.

This year, one unique challenge food and beverage stalls face is that they are expected to sell at least two budget items in their menu, capped at S$3.

It is to keep things affordable, and hopefully attract customers, who have complained of expensive food items in the past.

The bazaar will be a smaller one this year, with 500 stalls compared to the 700 last year, owing to development around the area, which has reduced the space available.

MIX AT GEYLANG SERAI RAMADAN BAZAAR

Organiser Wisma Geylang Serai told CNA that more than 80 per cent of the booths have been taken up. 

It said that up to 60 per cent of the food stalls offer traditional Hari Raya and Ramadan cuisine, and up to 80 per cent of the retail stalls feature items associated with the festive theme.

“The remaining stalls offer lifestyle products and upmarket, experimental food to cater to the diverse profiles of our visitors,” Wisma Geylang Serai said in response to queries from CNA. 

Among the stalls selling traditional food at the bazaar is Boolatz Kitchen, which offers items like curry puffs, mee goreng and tahu bergedil. 

Owner Farahdillah Mohd Zan, who has been running her home-based business since 2018, said that she decided to return to the bazaar after her debut last year because of the reception she received. There were queues at the shop, she said. 

“The older customers were waiting for us to open up,” she said, adding that she was able to cover last year’s S$17,800 rental within a week. 

OPTING FOR OTHER BAZAARS

Mr Suriyah’s strategy this year is to operate at just one location in Geylang and the rest in other areas like Woodlands, Tampines and Kampong Glam. 

“Nowadays, in almost every heartland area, there are bazaars. So people, I think for convenience's sake, they are travelling down to all the heartland areas … to buy the food and then only during the last week or so, they're coming to Geylang,” he noted.

Mr Suriyah is not the only stall owner who has noticed that competition for customers has heated up as more Ramadan bazaars pop up in the heartlands, and popular spots like at Kampong Glam.

One entrepreneur is veering away from the Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar due to rental costs. 

"I'm trying to picture myself renting the one in Geylang bazaar for S$12,000 or S$15,000 that's offered to us. How much can we sell? How many sampings can we sell?” asked Ms Ezreen Taib Zohri, co-founder of Band of Braders, which sells traditional Malay clothing called samping.

“We have to work extra hard to achieve that rent … and it doesn't justify the essence of Ramadan in my opinion.”

One alternative bazaar that entrepreneurs like her are looking at is the upcoming one called “Celeb Raya” at SingPost Centre, which entrepreneur Fatimah Mohsin started organising in 2017 along with other business owners.

Ms Mohsin, who sells clothes, said the idea came about because typically, she would have to secure five booths to provide a comfortable space for her customers to try on outfits. 

That would usually come up to around S$30,000 for rental at the Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar, which is too high, she said.

Vendors there are paying rent of between S$3,500 to S$12,000, depending on booth size. 

While she hopes to keep products affordable for customers, she admitted that it comes with challenges as well. 

“We try to reduce the cost of our rental … But shipping our products from overseas is costing us a bomb. It's expensive and one of the challenges is also getting some newer vendors to join in because they have so many options,” she said.