“Sad news.”
Patrons of a huge bookstore were disheartened to find out that one of its Makati branches is permanently closing its doors on the last day of this year.
Spot.ph reported that National Book Store‘s Greenbelt 1 branch will shut its doors tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022.
It said that its payment counters have announcements bearing the words:
“Thank you for shopping at our Greenbelt branch through the years. Please be informed that this branch will be permanently closing on December 31, 2022. You may still shop for books and supplies at our Glorietta branch or online at www.nationalbookstore.com or on our office stores on Lazada and Shopee.”
Patrons can still visit NBS’ nearby branches in Glorietta 1, Ayala Circuit Makati, Power Plant Mall at Rockwell, San Lorenzo Place, Waltermart Makati, and the Cash & Carry Mall.
They can also shop online through its website, Shopee and Lazada accounts.
The news saddened Filipinos who have become accustomed to visiting the certain branch through the years.
“Sad news indeed… (crying face emoji). There were so many things you can find at the [Greenbelt 1] branch that you won’t see at the other smaller branches (pensive face emoji). National Bookstore has been part of our growing up years and was always the [go-to] place for school supplies [at the] opening of every school year,” an Instagram user wrote.
“Ito ang pinakakumpleto sa lahat ng National Bookstore branch na alam ko,” another online user commented with several crying face emojis.
“Greenbelt branch is my favorite. It is easy to navigate when looking for books, office supplies, craft materials etc. You don’t need to go up and down. Sad it is closing,” a different Pinoy wrote with a similar emoji.
“Isa itong branch ng National Bookstore na ‘go to’ branch namin ng mga magulang ko noon ’80s and ’90s kapag bumibili ng mga books ko for school kasi kumpleto dito and andito ung mga ‘hard to find’ books,” a Facebook user partly wrote.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a Facebook post alleged that the NBS was closing its branches in “expensive malls” and that “only stand-alone shall stay.”
The bookstore denied the claim and said that it was “working tirelessly to adapt to the difficulties posed by the current situation” at that time.
NBS was founded in 1942 and is headquartered in Mandaluyong City.
It has since branched out to different parts of the country and established itself as the Philippines’ premier bookstore and seller of office and school supplies.
