Bookstores on the comeback trail
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, March 11, 2016
Offline store revival
Indeed, the online book realm is crammed with promotions for best sellers and celebrity endorsements.
"You are so easily diverted by all that stuff that it's easy to lose the simple pleasure of spotting an intriguing cover on the shelves, flipping through the pages and realizing it is a book you want to take home and read," Xu said.
Xu said he used to buy all his books online. Nowadays, his purchases are split pretty evenly with offline bookshops, particularly when he is seeking classic literature or academic works.
At the recent bookstore seminar, government officials indicated support for the new trend, promising policies that would help bookshops thrive again. Shanghai was among the first cities to take a pro-active role, introducing subsidies and tax breaks for bookstores in 2012.
Some universities and district or neighborhood committees also provide free or reduced rent premises for independent bookstores. It is a great help. Bookshop owners have long listed skyrocketing rents as the major deterrent to business.
Bookshops are even appearing in big department stores and malls. Several prominent booksellers have been invited to open branches in shopping malls, lured by big rent discounts. It's all part of efforts to retain consumers longer in malls as competition and changing buying habits erode sales.
"We see the upswing, particularly in bookshops that specialize in certain fields or offer something unique or decorate their interiors artistically," said Xin Yu from the Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau. "Many renowned bookshop chains are opening branches in Shanghai."
When first beset by the popularity of online books, many offline shops tried to keep customers by including cafés in their premises. Today, almost every bookshop has large, comfortable seating areas where customers may order beverages and read.
Open, Closed, Open, a bookshop wedged into a tiny space downtown, mainly sells poetry books. It took its name from his own experience. The shop was forced out of business a few years ago, then reopened last year. Like many small independent bookshops, the owners don't expect to make huge profits from selling books, but a small profit or just breaking even will suffice in realizing their personal dream.
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