CRITICISM OF COST INCREASES
Another stallholder estimated a 10 per cent drop in sales after Punggol Coast’s opening.
She said that when she suggested Timbre do more marketing for One Punggol, she was asked what kind of marketing she hoped to see.
“If we know what to do, we will do it ourselves already,” said the hawker, who requested not to be named as she said stallholders had been told not to speak to the media.
She also criticised higher costs charged by Timbre when stallholders renewed their licences in 2024, saying they had “no choice” but to accept the charges.
The higher costs were laid out in a letter from Timbre to the hawker dated Aug 13, 2024, which was seen by CNA.
In the letter, Timbre wrote that the increase reflected current market conditions and that it was still subsidising “overall costs at the centre level”.
