Life

Turning a new page for bookstores

By Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-06 08:06

The Singaporean bookstore brand's opening day in Beijing on April 2 attracted many office workers. [Photo/China Daily]

Boasting a host of well-known luxury brands, as well as a perfect location in central Beijing, China World Mall has everything you might expect a world-class shopping center to have. Yet, for director-general Huang Xingling, there was something missing until Page One opened on April 2.

"The newly opened bookstore will offer shoppers a shopping experience that is more culturally oriented," she said.

The first Page One opened in 1983 in a shopping mall in Singapore and mainly featured art and design books. Since then, the bookstore has branched out to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.

Its Beijing store occupies an area of 960 square meters and offers more than 150,000 books, 65 percent of which are in English. The average price for an English book is 80 yuan.

"Our target market is educated office workers in the central business district who enjoy English literature," said Liu Gui, general manager of Page One Beijing. "Art and design books are our other highlight."

Page One has opened just 18 months after Disanji bookstore in Zhongguancun ceased trading, with losses of 78 million yuan built up over the three years it was in operation.

Deng Xin, who was in charge of logistics for what was once China's largest private bookstore, attributes the bankruptcy to high rents and the fierce competition from online booksellers. "The bigger and closer the bookstore is to an expensive location, the higher the risk of losing money," he said.

However, Mark Tan, chief executive of Page One, is optimistic about the development of his business in the Chinese capital due to the company's "unique business strategy and quality service".

One of Tan's business philosophies is every detail counts. From the decoration to the layout of the books, every detail in Page One is carefully designed. The decoration reflects traditional Chinese style with flowers inscribed on the edge of every bookshelf and the lighting is designed for reading.

The music played in the store changes according to the time. During the day, upbeat music is played, while the store switches to smooth music when people begin to filter in after finishing work.

"I've met many people who didn't have any specific intention to buy a book but ended up buying a stack of books in Page One because they felt comfortable about our book selection and service, whereas online buyers often have a clear idea which book they want to buy," said Tan. "The first type of customer is the kind we want to lure into our store."

Page One plans to open another branch near 798 Art Zone in September.