InacorneronthethirdflooroftheCapitalandShoppingMallinBeijing鈥檚Xizhimenarea,notfarfromtheForbiddenCity,sitstheChinesebookstoreSisyphe,whichopenedinFebruary.
ThebookstorederivesitsnamefromSisyphus,acunningkingofEphyra(Corinth)inancientGreekmythologywhowaspunishedforhisdeceitfulnessbybeingforcedtorollahugeboulderupahillonlytohaveitrolldownagainassoonashehadplaceditonthesummit,repeatingthislaborioustaskforeternity.Accordingtoitswebsite,thebookstorechainissettobecometheSisyphusoftheculturalindustry,tenaciouslypromotingreadingamongthepublic.
AccordingtotheAll-ChinaFederationofIndustryandCommerce,10,000bookstoresinChinacloseddownfrom2002to2012,accountingfornearlyonehalfofthecountry鈥檚total.Theclosingofsuchalargenumberofbrick-and-mortarbookstoreswastheresultofcompetitionfrome-commercewebsitesande-books,butanewwaveofbookstorechainsrepresentedbySisypheisnowthriving.
Newapproach
TheSisyphebookstoreisunorthodoxinthesensethatitisnotonlydedicatedtosellingbooks,butcombinesthefunctionsofbookstore,caf茅andthesaleofcreativeculturalproductsandstationery.
Foundedin1993andheadquarteredinsouthwestChina鈥檚ChongqingMunicipality,Sisyphewasoriginallyabookstorefocusedonsellingbooksonthehumanitiesandsocialsciences.However,inthefaceofrisingrentsandcompetitionfromonlinebookretailers,Sisyphesoughttotransformandupgradeitsbusinessin2009.
Now,Sisyphehasopenednearly150storesinshoppingmallsinover50citiesinChina.BeforeSisyphecamealong,itwasraretofindbookstoresinChina鈥檚shoppingmalls,buttheproliferationofthechaininrecentyearshaschangedthings.Forexample,coveringanareaof750squaremeters,thebookstoreintheCapitalandShoppingMallhas600squareme-tersdevotedtobooksand150squaremetersforitscaf茅,andtheblackandredthemecreatesacomfortableenvironmentforcustomers.
鈥淪isyphetakesadvantageofthelargeandstablecustomerbaseofshoppingmallstosellitsbooksandcreativeculturalproducts,andenablescustomerstoenjoyspendingtimereadinganddrinkingcoffee.Inturn,bookstoreshaveimprovedtheculturalatmosphereofshoppingmalls.Itismutuallybeneficialcooperation,鈥滺uLei,GeneralManagerofSisyphe鈥檚CulturalDevelopmentCenter,toldBeijingReview.
Sisypheadaptsthebookssoldinitsstorestotheshop鈥檚locationandconsumerdemographicinordertocatertospecificneeds.
Sofar,thebookstore鈥檚businessmodelhasbeenprofitable.鈥淏ooksalesaccountfor78percentofourrevenue.Wewanttomaintainouridentityasabookstoreandnottoexpandtheareaforsellingcoffeeandcreativeculturalproducts.Thebookstoreoccupies80percentofouroutletsandthecaf茅20percent,鈥滺usaid.
CITICBookstore,asubsidiaryofBeijingbasedCITICPressGroup,hasadoptedasimilarbusinessmodelasSisyphe.Since2015,ithadopened74storesinairportsandeightinChinesecities.
OnthesecondflooroftheHopsonOneShoppingMallinBeijing鈥檚ChaoyangDistrict,nestledamidclothingshops,isaCITICBookstore.Everyweekendadultsandchildrenalikeflocktheretoread,whilelectures,exhibitionsandeventsfeaturingauthorsareheldregularlytodeveloplocalresidents鈥檌nterestinreading.
AccordingtostatisticsfromtheWinShangCommercialPropertyIntelligenceCenter,bookstoresaccountedfor26percentoftheculturalandcreativebrandsthatopenedoutletsinshoppingmallsin2017,thelargestshareforanyofthiscategoryofretailer.
Thedatawasbasedonastudyof60shoppingcenterswithafloorspacegreaterthan40,000squaremetersinsecond-tiercities.Inotherwords,bookstoreshavebecomeacul-turalandcreativebusinessmodelofchoiceforshoppingmallsinChina.
Favorablepolicies
E-commercewebsiteshavealsobeguneyeingthebrick-and-mortarbookstoremarket.Attheendof2015,onlinebookretailerDangdangannouncedaplantoopen1,000bookstoresinChinainthenextthreetofiveyears.
Dangdang鈥檚PARK108bookstore,whichopenedinChongqinginJanuary,coversanareaof2,500squaremeters.Itcombinessellingbookswithcreativeculturalproducts,food,flowerarrangements,exhibitionsandintangibleculturalheritage.
Thebookstorehasnearly40,000bookscoveringawidevarietyofsubjectsincludingliterature,historyandscience,withallbooksinstoresoldatthesamepriceasthoseonDangdang鈥檚website.
ZhangWei,AssistantPresidentofDangdang,saidthatthecompanydecidedtoopenbrick-and-mortarstoresbecauseofthegovernment鈥檚supportivepoliciesforphysicalbookstores,includinglowerrentsandsubsidiesforinteriordesign.
Healsosaidthatbrick-and-mortarbookstoreshavehugepotentialiftheychangetheirpreviousmodelofsimplysellingbooksintoprovidingdiversifiedexperiencesforconsumers.
Beijing鈥檚bookstoreswilllikelywitnessnewopportunitiesfordevelopmentthisyear,withannualsubsidiesfor150bookstorestoincreasefrom18millionyuan($2.65million)to50millionyuan($7.37million),accordingtoaguidelineonsupportingthedevelopmentofbrick-and-mortarbookstoresreleasedbytheBeijingMunicipalGovernmentonJuly17.
ZhangSu,DeputyDirectoroftheBeijingMunicipalBureauofPress,Publication,Radio,FilmandTelevision,saidthatthelocalgovernmentwillsupporttheestablishmentofbookstoreswithdistinctivecharacteristicsatcommercialcenters,touristattractions,transportationhubs,denselypopulatedcommunitiesandnewly-builtresidentialcompounds.
By2020,eachdistrictofBeijingwillhavealargebookstorewhichwilldoubleasacomprehensiveculturalcenter,whileimportantstreetswillalsohavetheirowniconicbookstores.ThemoveaimstoimprovepublicculturalservicesinBeijingandpromotethedevelopmentofthecityintothenation鈥檚culturalcenter.
Accordingtotheguideline,Beijingwillpromotethetransformationofbookstoresfrombookretailerstoprovidersofculturalservicesforthepublic.Thecityisencouragingthedevelopmentof24-hourbookstoresandsupportsthebookstorebusinessmergingwiththefilm,creativedesignandtourismsectorstobecomespacesforculturalactivitiesandleisure.
Inordertoresolvebookstores鈥檇ifficultyinfindinglocations,theguidelineencouragesmakinguseofunusedpublicspacestoestablishstoresandsupportsrealestatecompaniesinmakingexemptionsorlowerrentsforbookstores.
Meanwhile,thegovernmentwilloffertaxreductionandexemptionforbookstoresandencourageprivatecapitaltotakepartinthedevelopmentofphysicalbookstores.
Thecaf茅insidetheSisyphebookstoreattheCapitalandShoppingMallinBeijing鈥檚XizhimenAreaWEIYAO
ReadersperusebooksataSisyphebookstoreinChongqingonJune16XINHUACopyeditedbyLaurenceCoultonCommentsto