Another chapter for bookstores in an age of culture
Print Edition
GOING to a bookstore is no longer just about buying books. Wine tasting, exhibitions and lectures are just some of the cultural events that have made today’s bookstores a “must-go” for young Chinese.
As spending on culture grows, bookstores are reinventing themselves. Redefining themselves as “knowledge centers” or “cultural hubs,” physical stores are reviving an industry in a downturn.
CITIC Books, a chain owned by Chinese conglomerate CITIC Group, for example, offers value-added services to meet the demands of a niche market.
CITIC Books targets what it calls “the rising class,” offering them new products in its bookstores, such as drones and 3D-enabled phones. To diversify income streams, CITIC Books also offers customized services to corporate executives, selecting the “right” books based on customers’ personal details such as age and interests.
“Bookstores are not just selling products now. In fact, they are selling a lifestyle,” said Fang Xi, the chain’s general manager.
In 2016, its parent company, CITIC Press, generated net profit of 128 million yuan (US$18.6 million), 28 percent more than the previous year, according to the company’s annual report.
Revenue growth will accelerate as the chain opens more stores this year, Fang said. Confident in the company’s growth potential, Fang said CITIC Books plans to open another 60 stores in 2017.
Like CITIC Books, branded bookstores around the country are looking for their own niche markets. In Guangzhou, one bookstore operates much like a boutique, offering designer accessories and artwork while giving readers space to read. In Beijing, there’s a bookstore featuring cats, inviting cat lovers to spend an afternoon with books, coffee and their favorite pets.
What underlies the transformation of physical stores is a shift in China’s consumption, which is becoming increasingly diversified and culture oriented.
“Not that long ago, big companies in China had all the power to determine what products would be made available to the market,” CITIC Group chairman Chang Zhenming said in the company’s annual report. “That era is long gone, and consumption models have changed to reflect the primacy of customer desire.”
Cultural spending in China as a whole is gaining momentum as authorities push the cultural sector. China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) aims to make culture a “pillar” of the country’s economy. Local governments have also introduced support measures, including tax incentives, to encourage physical bookstores.
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