Retail News CRM

Tag: Bookstore

  • Bookstore chain Fahasa says profits rise 65%

    Bookstore chain Fahasa says profits rise 65%

    Leading bookstore chain Fahasa saw its first half profits surging 65% to VND15.4 billion (US$657,000).

    Revenues rose by 10.8% to VND1.77 trillion.

    It had an excellent second quarter with profits of VND11.05 billion on sales of VND1.13 trillion.

    For the full year it targets profits of VND18 billion and revenues of VND3.5 trillion, up 3,051% and 125%.

    Last year, since it had to close many of its stores due to Covid-19 restrictions, its profits were down to just VND590.5 million on sales of VND2.79 trillion.

    Fahasa was established in 1976 and went public 30 years later. It has 71 stores across the country now, down from 115 at the end of 2020.

  • Amazon to close physical bookstores

    Amazon to close physical bookstores

    Amazon is closing most of its physical stores, the company announced today, with all 68 of its Amazon Books, Amazon 4-Star, and Amazon Pop Up locations across the US and the UK set to close while the company refocuses on its grocery and fashion stores.

    Amazon Books was one of the primarily online storefront’s first physical retail experiences when the first location opened in Seattle in 2015. Amazon has since expanded to 24 bookstores across the US, all of which are now slated to be closed down.

    The company would go on to expand its retail efforts with Amazon 4-Star in 2018, with a more generally focused store that sold products with a four-star or higher rating curated from Amazon’s digital storefront, along with — of course — Amazon’s own first-party products (including Echo, Kindle, and Fire TV devices).

    Amazon Pop Up stores, on the other hand, were smaller, more focused mall experiences that offered to rotate themed products (March is a printer collaboration with Brother, for example).

    All of Amazon’s retail locations, however, helped serve as a physical contact point to return Amazon products, in addition to offering lower prices and perks to Amazon Prime subscribers.

    The news isn’t entirely shocking: Amazon’s retail ambitions have largely felt like small-scale trials compared to the massive scale of its online operations. And, the company’s physical locations have performed far worse than its digital storefront in recent years.

    Amazon isn’t exiting brick-and-mortar stores entirely. The company will continue to operate its Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods grocery stores, as well as its Amazon Go convenience stores. Amazon’s experimental “Amazon Style” clothing store is also sticking around, too.

    Amazon has yet to say when exactly it’ll be closing up its physical shops, although Reuters reports that timing will vary from store to store.

  • Wuhan’s Chinese Language bookstore Zall opens in Singapore

    Wuhan’s Chinese Language bookstore Zall opens in Singapore

    A Chinese-language bookstore from Wuhan opened its first overseas store today in Singapore.

    The Zall Bookstore, popular in the main city of China’s Hubei province, opened its doors to bookworms at the Wheelock Place mall on Orchard Road.

    The two-story space houses a wide collection of more than 30,000 books, some of which are displayed on a revolving bookcase that leads visitors to an art gallery showcasing exhibitions by Singapore-based artists like Boo Sze Yang and Justin Lee. There is also a cafe serving pastries.

    Its titles are mostly in Chinese, covering genres such as literature and history. Given that its home has become most-associated with the origin of COVID-19, it’s worth noting there is a section about the ongoing pandemic.

    The bookstore’s four outlets in Hubei are open 24 hours, though the Singapore store is not. It was founded in 2013 by Chinese writer Yan Zhi, whose daughter is the first general manager of the Singapore store.

    The return of a bookstore to Wheelock Place comes 10 years after American books megastore Borders moved out of the mall after 14 years as its anchor tenant.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Eslite opening mega store in KL, Malaysia

    Eslite opening mega store in KL, Malaysia

    Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活), which runs the Eslite bookstore chain in Taiwan and abroad, yesterday inked an agreement with Malaysia’s YTL Corp Bhd to open a branch in downtown Kuala Lumpur in 2022.

    The two sides signed the partnership via a teleconference to launch the Taiwanese bookstore brand in YTL’s mixed-use property The Starhill in Bukit Bintang, a central business district in the Malaysian capital.

    Despite the company’s aim to grow its business abroad, Eslite Spectrum chairwoman Mercy Wu (吳旻潔) said that she was initially hesitant about expanding to Malaysia when the world was in the grip of a pandemic.

    “I decided to take the step at the urging of YTL Corp, the largest conglomerate in Malaysia whose founder, Yeoh Tiong Lay (楊忠禮), was an immigrant from Kinmen and had long supported Chinese culture and education,” Wu told a news conference in Taipei.

    Joseph Yeoh (楊恭賢), vice president of YTL hotels and property wing, said from Kuala Lumpur he was confident that Eslite would succeed in Malaysia, as many people there would still prefer in-person shopping once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

    YTL has a global footprint with nine shopping malls in different parts of the world and the collaboration with Eslite could lead to other partnerships in the future, Joseph Yeoh said.

    “We will first focus on the current project,” he said.

    The upcoming flagship Eslite branch at The Starhill would be a 2,000 ping (6,600m2) space featuring a bookstore, as well as retail, food and beverage sections, Wu said.

    A Taiwanese team is in charge of its interior design, in line with the company’s mission to integrate the humanities, arts and creativity into life, Wu said.

    “Our initial hesitation stemmed from our insistence on doing the best we can to live up to a reputation of being the top cultural brand across Chinese societies,” Wu said.

    Kuala Lumpur, dubbed the World Book Capital City by the UN, is an ideal destination for expansion, as Malaysia has topped the list of foreign visitors from Southeast Asia for the past 10 years, she said.

    Malaysians have long embraced cultural diversity, with Chinese constituting the second-largest ethnic group, making Malaysia a major export market for Taiwanese books, she added.

    The new Eslite branch is expected to help drive cultural tourism in Malaysia and benefit the two partners, Wu and Yeoh said.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Hai An bookstore opens its doors in Ho Chi Minh City

    Hai An bookstore opens its doors in Ho Chi Minh City

    In downtown Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest bookstore yet, Hai An, has opened its doors. Spanning five stories, the store features a contemporary design with an ocean-inspired concept including an art installation in an atrium.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Japan’s Tsutaya Books opens first China outlet

    Japan’s Tsutaya Books opens first China outlet

    Famed Japanese franchise Tsutaya Bookstore said at the ongoing Shanghai Book Fair that its first branch in the city is scheduled to open in December.

    The bookstore chain has joined hands with major Chinese property developer Vanke to build an artistic outlet in the Changning District of Shanghai, which will be on a par with its famous branch in the Ginza Six shopping center and its flagship store in Daikanyama in Tokyo.

    Takuya Nomura, general manager of Tsutaya Investment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., said Tsutaya’s new store will be located in the Columbia Circle, a redeveloped culture park with preserved, old mansion-compound and industrial buildings, widely known for the Columbia Country Club in the 1920s.

    The new two-story bookstore will cover an area of 2,000 square meters and provide a large collection of selected books and limited commodities, as well as rich experiential activities, according to Tsutaya.

    The book retailer, an affiliate of the Tokyo-based culture and entertainment service group Culture Convenience Club Co., ran about 1,198 outlets around the world.

    The new Shanghai outlet is aimed at providing Chinese readers with more lifestyle choices and enhancing the public’s perception of beauty, said Shohei Matsuo, producer of the new store, who also noted that more clerks will be recruited in China.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Malaysian bookstore MPH shifting focus to online

    Malaysian bookstore MPH shifting focus to online

    Malaysian bookstore chain MPH is closing multiple stores as it moves to a digitally-driven omnichannel business model.

    The company is not closing down, despite much speculation on social media concerning the impending closure of multiple stores.

    A recent Facebook post revealing nine MPH stores in the process of shutting shop went viral, with many users expressing sadness at the presumably imminent disappearance of the brand.

    In a statement answering customer concerns, MPH Group clarified its strategy as a transition into a more e-commerce-focused retail format, consolidating non-performing stores and pooling resources for a digital-business push.

    The company’s new strategy also involves the deployment of high-tech vending machines placed in strategic locations, as well as a social interactive e-learning platform.

    The 114-year-old firm will maintain its key physical locations as it undergoes the transition, in a process that has been largely accelerated following the coronavirus outbreak with a concomitant sharp uptick in online sales.

    The store’s e-commerce platform is due to launch in its revitalized form later in the year.

    “We want to be able to connect with our customers through multiple touchpoints, be it online or offline by adopting an omnichannel approach,” said MPH Group CEO Donald Kee.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Taiwan’s Eslite to make Southeast Asian debut in Malaysia

    Taiwan’s Eslite to make Southeast Asian debut in Malaysia

    Taiwanese bookstore chain Eslite is preparing to launch in Kuala Lumpur.

    Although final details have yet to be released, the new 3300–6600sqm store will likely trade in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The opening, scheduled for next year and potentially delayed due to Covid-19 concerns, will see Taiwan’s largest bookseller opening its first store in Malaysia. Earlier reports have suggested the firm has been seeking a partner in the territory for some time.

    The 30-year-old chain is well known for its unique fusion retail business model as a bookstore, mall and cultural creative platform. It operates 48 stores in Taiwan as well as overseas outlets in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Japan. The Malaysian store will be the first Eslite outlet in Southeast Asia.

    Despite the expansion, Eslite’s business has struggled in its home territory, prompting a series of high-profile store closures, including its flagship location in Dunnan where it famously traded 24 hours.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Bookstore chain Popular exits Hong Kong, shuttering all 16 stores

    Bookstore chain Popular exits Hong Kong, shuttering all 16 stores

    Singapore-based bookstore-chain Popular has fallen victim to the coronavirus pandemic and shuttered all 16 stores in Hong Kong, effective immediately.

    However, Popular’s other non-retail businesses in publishing and distribution will continue to operate locally.

    The company was recently taken to court by Palliser Investments over unpaid rent for its Whampoa Gardens branch during the past two months, accumulating HK$520,000 in debt. As employees cleared out the stores, Popular’s Facebook and official website page has also been deactivated.

    A representative spoke to HK01 news explaining the group’s difficult decision: “The retail book industry in Hong Kong has been facing structural challenges in the market over the past decade. It has continued to deteriorate in the past 12 months, leading to a severe contraction in retail revenue”.

    The group will now divert its resources and focus on education publishing, e-learning and educational services instead of retailing, the spokesperson said.

    The bookstore-chain Popular Book Company will continue to operate in nine of its other international markets, including Singapore and Malaysia.

  • Eslite Bookstore to open outlet in Tokyo

    Eslite Bookstore to open outlet in Tokyo

    Taiwan’s Eslite bookstore chain is set to launch its first outlet in Tokyo this week.

    The store opening marks Eslite Spectrum Corp’s 30th anniversary as well as the first time for the firm to start-up business in a territory where Chinese is not spoken. The 50th Eslite location, it will trade in books and other merchandise sourced from Taiwan and Japan.

    The late Robert C.Y. Wu, who founded the bookstore, is on record as hoping the store would become a “warm venue for people to meet and connect”.

    Eslite has stores in Hong Kong.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Zhongshuge Minhang bookstore announces grand book hall

    Zhongshuge Minhang bookstore announces grand book hall

    new bookstore in Shanghai’s Minhang District has been featured on designboom.com for its remarkable design.

    The Zhongshuge Minhang store was created by Chinese architectural firm X+living and installed in a third-floor business park location. The store features a black book wall with groups of peg-top bookshelves under a soft light, as well as a text-covered curtain wall with balanced geometric bookshelves inspired by spinning ballet dancers.

    The store’s grand book hall features bookshelves stretched outwards on both sides towards a mirrored ceiling with symmetrical designs resembling a British church. Low-profile reading booths allow visitors to enjoy private and quiet escapes during their reading.

    Readers may buy a cup of coffee while reading their selected books in an atmosphere that emphasizes the beauty of books and reflects a cultured and multidimensional design vision.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Duoyun Books’ flagship in Shanghai is 52 floors above ground level

    Duoyun Books’ flagship in Shanghai is 52 floors above ground level

    Design firm Wutopia Lab has designed a unique “books above clouds” store in Shanghai’s tallest building for Duoyun Books.

    The design for 2259sqm flagship located on level 52 of Shanghai Tower was commissioned by Shanghai Century Publishing to provide space for 60,000 books. As well as the book-retailing area, the store features a lecture room, exhibition space and a cafe.

    Wutopia’s scheme centres around a “white abstract mountain” of stacked translucent bookshelves and includes curved entrances and large windows offering expansive views over the city.

    A “Tiffany-blue” cafe is embedded amidst the bookshelves, while a pink dessert house is positioned at the end of the store to surprise visitors.

    Lees ook:

  • Cafes and bookstores in China riding wave of creative boom

    Cafes and bookstores in China riding wave of creative boom

    China’s cultural and creative industries are entering a positive era, according to a new report by Mintel, Cultural And Creative Products Retailing.

    And cafes and bookstores in China are among the primary beneficiaries.

    The firm found that with China shifting from a primarily manufacturing economy toward a more service- and creative-centric one, Chinese consumers are paying more attention to cultural and leisure lifestyles.

    The research revealed that as many as three in five (60 per cent) of urban Chinese respondents said that they have been visiting more cafes in the past six months, while more than half of respondents have increased visits to libraries (56 per cent) and bookstores (55 per cent). What’s more, two in five (40 per cent) of urban Chinese respondents say they have been visiting more museums and over a-third (36 per cent) say the same of art galleries.

    Meanwhile, lower tier cities in China present great potential for cultural and creative industries. Mintel found that 61 per cent of respondents from Tier 2 cities visited libraries more in the past six months as compared to just over half (51 per cent) of respondents in Tier 1 cities. Similar figures held for bookstores and art galleries.

    “Chinese consumers, today, are paying more attention to cultural and leisure lifestyles, and therefore, are spending more money on leisure and entertainment,” said Mintel China Reports category research director, retail Chih-yuan Wang.

    “As discussed in our report Mintel Trend ‘Slow it All Down’, as lives become faster and more hectic, there is a wider appreciation for taking one’s time. Cultural and creative products present the opportunity for Chinese consumers to enjoy a degree of slow-paced escapism—also why cafes, libraries and bookstores are now at the centre of cultural and creative leisure lifestyles in China. We are seeing the emergence of new-format bookstores and lifestyle stores featuring comfortable spaces, aligning with consumers’ pursuit of leisure and better living. It’s not just about selling products; it’s also about selling a way of life.”

    Research from the flagship report shows that Chinese consumers are actually spending more on leisure and entertainment; total expenditure in the sector reached an estimated RMB2,048 billion (US$289.1 billion) last year, growing 9.7 per cent from 2017. Mintel research also reveals that going to the cinema has become the most popular cultural activity, with three-quarters (74 per cent) of urban Chinese respondents having purchased film tickets within the past six months. This is followed by spending on exhibitions (40 per cent) and concerts, operas, dramas or plays (35 per cent).

    “Despite the popularity of video streaming services, our research shows that Chinese consumers love going to the cinema,” said Wang. “Going to the cinema is perceived as a leisure activity rather than a cultural one, showcasing the potential to explore the cultural aspects of cinema and the overall film industry. Transforming cinema from a leisure venue into a cultural venue will open up opportunities for the film- or play-related merchandise market.”

    Lees ook:

  • MPH Bookstore may quit Singapore

    MPH Bookstore may quit Singapore

    Malaysia’s MPH Bookstore may exit Singapore, closing its last outlet by September.

    The chain announced its plan to close Raffles City and Parkway Parade outlets on July 28 and September 1 respectively. But the company signalled it is open to replacing the two outlets with a single store if it can find the right location at the right rent.

    MPH is closing the stores due to high rental costs and intense competition from online booksellers.

    As a result, the chain has plans to “restructure and streamline its resources for new business plans”.

    “Most of these online retailers give between 15- and 25-per-cent discount. Another unfair advantage is they don’t have to charge GST,” MPH Bookstores area manager Ismail Osman said in April.

    He also revealed that sales at MPH had declined by 40 per cent over the last 10 years.

    MPH Singapore’s first flagship on Stamford Road closed in 2003, after nearly 100 years, due to declining sales.

    MPH’s closure news came one month after other bookstore chains such as Popular and Japan’s Books Kinokuniya also closed their outlets after more than 30 years trading.

    Lees ook:

  • Popular bookstore at Thomson Plaza Closing Down

    Popular bookstore at Thomson Plaza Closing Down

    The Popular bookstore at Thomson Plaza has closed after 31 years.

    The outlet, which has traded since 1988, has been closed due to what the owners describe as “lease issues”.

    Popular invited its customers to share their memories of the Thomson Plaza store in a Facebook photo contest which will end tomorrow. Three winners will get SG$20 worth of Popular vouchers.

    The Popular chain is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year, but like all book retailers worldwide, the company is facing challenges from the growth of digital books and consumers moving to other media to read or entertain themselves.

    The top 95 spenders at the Popular bookstore at Thomson Plaza have been rewarded with complimentary three-year membership of the company’s loyalty program, valid also at UrbanWrite stores.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: