How Could Chinese Private Bookstores Survive?

The closure of Forest Song， Pho

tosynthesis and several other famous bookstores in 2011 has sparked wide public concern over the survival of private bookstores in China. It was reported that about 10，000 private bookstores were shut down last year. The rest of the stores still in business are struggling for survival.

During the Beijing Book Expo lasting from January 8 to 11 at the China International Exhibition Center， a forum was held themed on the Survival of Private Bookstores. Government officials， publishers， owners of private bookstores and book critics participated in the meeting， voicing their thoughts on the difficulties facing private bookstores and the ways out. It is agreed that in order to survive， private bookstores should seek government support and innovate their business models at the same time. Why are private bookstores going down?

Private book-selling business emerged in China when the nation started to modernize， and reached its peak in the late 1990s， said Liu Suli， founder of All Sages Books. A wave of closure of private bookstores began in 2009， marked by the shutdown of Sanlian Guangzhou， the Third Polar， Forest Song， Photosynthesis Shaanxi， etc. The reasons for the phenomenon were discussed at the forum.

Strong competition from online stores

Competition from online stores is believed to be the major reason for the downfall of private bookstores. “Low prices of online books are a grim challenge for traditional bookstores.” said Hao Zhenxing， director of China Press Research Institute.

Price wars between online stores such as Dangdang， Amazon， 360buy and Suning have driven book prices to levels unbearable by offline stores.

Many people are sorry for reading books in offline stores and buying them online. But how can we blame them for not resisting the low prices of online stores?

Popularity of e-books

With the development of information technologies， people spend an increasing time reading e-books， as it is convenient and less costly. This is especially true for the younger generations.

Lack of government support

Private bookstores were not made legal until 1996. Since their advent， they have not for one day enjoyed the favors granted to state-owned book stores. The State-owned ones have privileges in terms of rent， exclusive selling right， national loan and other aspects， putting the private ones at a disadvantaged position. “Today the question should not be why so many private book stores were shut down， but why some of them have survived. It is only normal that private bookstores died， and a miracle that some of them are surviving.” said Liu Suli， founder of All Sages Books.

Poor management

Some participants at the meeting pointed that bad management is the subjective reason causing the downfall of some of the private bookstores.

What can be done?

Although private bookstores face the pressure of declining clients， and increasing costs， people are still optimistic about their future. “Paper books and physical stores are irreplaceable by online ones，” as they agree. What should private store do to stay in business?

Offer added service

Now many bookstores offer saloons， coffee， cultural products， and other kinds of services， to appeal to customers. For examples， Wanbang Bookstore in Shaanxi opened a tea section within the store， and opened two new stores in 2011.

Jiang Lei from Fang Suo Bookstore stressed that physical bookstores are not just places to sell books， but also cultural spaces. “We see ourselves as editors， who share ideas with clients. In this way， we establish a close relationship between books and people. This is how we differentiate ourselves with online stores and digital reading.”

Hu Hongxia， chief editor of Jing Newspaper， suggested that private book stores should be unique in style， selection of books， and services.

Seek government support

Sun Yuemu， editor of China Book Business Review， said that government policies have huge impact on the development of book stores. Private book stores are facing difficulties caused by fierce market competition. Adjustment of government policies in terms of tax， loan or other aspects might will helpful to private book stores.

Hao Zhenxing believed that private bookstores are an important component of the publishing industry and distribution industry. They deserve government support.

Against the backdrop that the central Chinese government is promoting cultural development， the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Press and Publication Administration were granted a large number of funds. Efforts should be done to attract the attention of the government and apply for tax favors and other favorable treatments， so as to keep private bookstores in business.

Innovate in business models

Wei Hongjian， general manager of Wanbang Bookstore in Shaaxi， said that we should open our horizons， and innovate in the business models. For example， Wan Suo Bookstore was opened last December right beside LV and Dior in Guangdong province. With the combination of bookstore and top fashion brand， Wan Suo positioned itself as a pursuer of life aesthetics.

Learn from foreign bookstores

Qu Jingfan， a journalist of China Book Business Review pointed out that the market share of private bookstores in the United States has also been declining. But many of the bookstores managed to survive. He shared some of the successful ways used by foreign bookstores to keep good business. For instance， obtaining the exclusive selling right of some books; understanding the book preferences of the local community via questionnaire; offer book ordering and delivering services; hosting book exhibitions with several other bookstores; let community members participate in the setting up of the bookstore; host membership birthdays， reading saloons， dramas， summer campus and other activities; make a map of the physical bookstores in the city; actively use digital technologies.