Dubbedthe“mostbeautifulbookstore”inHangzhou,ZhejiangProvince,ZhongshugeBookstoreinXingguangInternationalPlazafocusesonhumanitiesandscienceaswellaskids’books.VCGItwouldbefairtosaythatbookstoreshaveenduredconsiderableupsanddownsthroughouttheages.Afewyearsago,whenreadinghabitsbeganchangingandonlineretailersbegansellingbooks,brick-and-mortarbookstorebegandisappearing.
However,inrecentyears,thesituationlooksgoodforaresurgenceofphysicalbookstoresinChina.Accordingtoincompletestatistics,in2017,about80newbookstoresopened.Thankstopreferentialpoliciesandreforms,brick-andmortarbookstoreshaveenduredacoldwinterandarewelcomingspring.
AreportreleasedbythebookmarketmonitoringandanalysisfirmOpenBookshowedthatin2017,thecountofChinesephysicalbookstoresshiftedfromadroptoariseby2.33percentcomparedtothepreviousyear.
Traditionalbookshopsprimarilyconsistofbooksandshelves,butemergingnewbookstoreshavetakenonanewlookintermsofbotharchitecturaldesignandbookdisplays,graduallyestablishingtheirownbrands.AccordingtoJiangXiliang,presidentofOpenBook,bookstore1.0soldonlybooks,bookstore2.0integratedotherbusinessesandbookstore3.0isjustbeginning.
DesignPower
InJiang’sopinion,futurebookstoresneedtoattractregularcustomerflowandearnmoneybypromotingculturalconsumption.“Theappearanceofabookstoreneedstocatchcustomers’eyesfirst,”heexplains.“Inrecentyears,somebookstoreshavebeenacclaimedasexceptionallybeautifulandbecome‘internetbookstorecelebrities.’Suchretailersareclearlyoutstandingintermsofdesignandstyle.”
DanJie,presidentandCEOofShanghaiYanjiyouBrandManagementCo.,Ltd.,agrees.Hebelievestheappearanceofabookstorerepresentspartofthe“designpower.”“Ingeneralterms,‘designpower’isthedecoration,”hesays.“Butactuallyitistheabilitytochoosequalityproductsanddisplaybookswellaswellasintegratebookswithculturalcreativeproducts.‘Designpower’penetrateseveryfactorattractingreaders.”
Beijing’smostpopularbookstoreslikeOwspace,SiSPHEandYanjiyouallhavedistinctstylesintermsofdesignandbookdisplay.SiSPHE,forexample,featuresdarkgreensetoffbyredandblack,greetingcustomerswithitsstrongvisualimpact.Withsoftlightingandgreatvarietiesofbooks,thebookstorecreatesareading-friendlyatmosphere.
“IlikethedesignofYanjiyou,”remarksareaderinthebookstore.“Icaneasilyfindthebestsellersonaparticularshelf.Thespacecolorisbright.Itfeelspleasanttoselectandreadbookshere.”
Beijing’s8thSiSPHEbookstoreopenedatXizhimenCapitalandMallinFebruary2017.Builtwithredbrickssetoffwithblackmetallinesandwoodradiatingnaturalgentlecolor,thedesignenablesreaderstorelaxinitsculturalambiance.VCG
PAGEONEBookstoreinBeijing’sXichengDistrictissituatedinaprimelocation,facingtheancientZhengyangGate.ReaderscanfeelthecombinationofancientandmodernBeijing.byYuZhiqiangFocusonBooks
Certainly,abookstorecannotsolelyrelyonitslookandneeds“substantialcontent,”whichisrepresentedbytheselectionofbooks.JiangXiliangthinksthatbookstoreswillbecomeanentrancetourbanculturalconsumption,inwhichbooksandreadingarethefocusandcorelogic.
“Bookstorescannotbecomeshoppingmallsorplacessellingculturalproducts,”saysYangLiuqing,deputydirectoroftheRetailChainDepartmentatXinhuaWinsharePublishingandMediaCo.,Ltd.Sheadmitsthatabookstorecouldmaintainseveralrevenuestreamstoensurebooksarenotthemainsourceofprofit,butbooksarestilltheheartoftheestablishmentandakeyfactorindrawingcustomers.Thefurtherdevelopmentofbookstoreswillstillnotchangethispoint.“Theindustryisdistinctfromothers,”Yangstresses.
Arichculturalexperiencedifferentiatesbrick-and-mortarbookstoresfromonlineretailers.Atpresent,manybookstoresholdlecturesandsalons.Jiangwonderswhetherabookstorecancombineitsowncharacteristicswithculturaleventslikeamusicalfestivalbyholdingactivitiesrelatedtomusic.“Maybeapoetryreadingsalon,”hesays.“Theyjustneedtoestablishmoreconnectionsandinteractionswithreaders.Thiskindofexperiencecanserveasa‘protectivescreen’againsttheimpactofe-commerce.”
TargetedReaders
AccordingtoYangLiuqing,whilesellingbooksandorganizingculturalactivities,abookstoreshouldsegmenttheirreaders.“Ratherthantryingtosellbooksforeveryone,newerbookstorestendtotargetspecificcustomers,”shesays.
“WehavebranchbookstoresespeciallyforkidsandothersforfansoftraditionalChineseculture,”Yangelaborates.“Customersegmentationisthetrend.Forinstance,FangSuoCommune,aninnovativebookstore,focusesonart.Thiskindofbookstoreneedstopaymoreattentiontothe‘experience.’There,readerscanfindspecificbookswhilecommunicatingwithpeoplesharingsimilarinterests.Thisenhancesthereadingexperience.”
“Readershavegoodinstinctstofindthemostsatisfyingcontentandatmosphere,”addsDanJie.“Theynaturallychoosethebookstoresclosesttotheirinterests.Essentially,birdsofafeatherflocktogether.Ifabookstoredefinesitselfaccuratelyandgraduallyestablishesabrand,itcanenjoyabigandstablemarketafterattractingregularcustomers.”Danisoptimisticaboutthefutureofbrick-and-mortarbookstores.“Butofcourse,theystillhavealongwaytogo.”Childrenenjoybooksinafairyland-likebookstore.VCG