Sungei Road vendors show Singapore Poly students their sales techniques

Using items like Japanese banana notes and antiques, 15 vendors from the now-defunct Sungei Road market have been showing off their selling techniques at the Singapore Polytechnic (SP) over the last couple of days.

Organised by SP students, the Legal Black Market at the school have seen about 40 booths set up, and the event ends tomorrow.

It was planned by three students from SP's diploma in business administration to observe the vendors' sales techniques, which cannot be replicated in lectures.

The 80-year-old Sungei Road market closed on July 10 to make way for residential developments.

Some of its vendors now operate in pasar malams and other such events.

The chairman of Sungei Market's association, Mr Koh Eng Khoon, 76, told The New Paper that he hoped the students would be inspired by the vendors' resilience.

He said: "This is meaningful as students can observe the traditional way of conducting business.

"Though we are old, we have and will find ways to communicate with anybody, even with English and Thai-speaking foreigners."

Mr Koh added: "Vendors convince customers by saying how their items are antiques and cannot be found elsewhere anymore."

He said the vendors use their experience to judge an item's value and price.

One of the event'sorganisers, Mr Vince Agcanas, 19, said the vendors' items include second-hand goods acquired from foraging dumpsters or from karang guni men.

Another organiser, Miss Elizabeth Woo, 20, said: "We want to give business opportunities to these vendors with our event. Marketing and hustling skills are things they can teach us as well."