High rent, stiff competition: Geylang Serai Ramadan bazaar stallholders struggling to turn a profit

Owner of J8 Food Street, Mr Max Tan, also said too many bazaars were set up this year.

“Everyone is very spread out,” he said, referring to the customers. “Footfall was higher in the past, pre-COVID.”

Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, lead adviser of Wisma Geylang Serai, wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday that more than 2 million visitors have visited the bazaar.

“We are already on set to be on record of having the largest number of people coming to a Ramadan bazaar in Singapore,” said Assoc Prof Faishal, who is also Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development​​​​​​.

There are 700 stalls available for rent at the Geylang bazaar this year, but nearly 200 were empty as of Mar 21. Wisma Geylang Serai later said in a Mar 24 press release that the take-up rate was 95 per cent for food and beverage booths, and 80 per cent for retail stalls.

“IDENTICAL” STALLS

The bazaar’s organisers – S-Lite Event Support, Enniche Global Trading, and TLK Trade Fair and Events, – said they limited the number of popular Ramly burger and kebab stalls and spread them out in the bazaar.

The organisers said on Tuesday there were 20 stalls selling “premium products” under the food and beverage category, out of 150 stalls.

“In the event if, there are too many stalls selling the same food/product in the same zone, it may lead to price wars which would be highly detrimental for the stall holders. Too many similar food/products will also limit variety and options for visitors,” said the organisers.

They added that despite the limits and the stalls being spread out, there could be more than one stall selling Ramly burgers and kebabs within a specified zone.

The statement added that vendors who wanted to sell Ramly burgers and kebabs at the bazaar would have been told about this.

But some stallholders felt that the organisers did not do enough.

“There are a lot of repeat stalls, identical stalls,” said Mr Tan, whose stall sells Thai milk tea and snacks. There were at least two other Thai milk tea stalls in the same area that CNA visited.

Stallholders selling Ramly burgers also said repeat stalls could make it difficult to cover operational costs.

Asked if he would be able to break even, Mr Ridzuan said: “I think so, but can only earn a bit, maybe 10 per cent.”