Readers find their niche
As book lovers, Patrick Yip and Joey Law were eager to share the joy of reading when their first-born was old enough. However, to their dismay, they found that choices of good quality and affordable books locally were limited.
They began sourcing books online and soon realised that there was a niche market in Hong Kong for the types of books parents and children can enjoy together.
Three years ago they turned their passion into a business and set up Booklodge, which has built up good links with publishers in the United States, Britain and often partners with the Oxford University Press for special promotions.
'As book lovers, we believed the habit of reading was pivotal to children and we also knew young children learn by repetition, which made borrowing from [a] library not very convenient,' says Law, a former police officer.
The couple, who now have two children aged three and six, also believed it was important that parents had better access to books that were value for money.
'It was not fair for children's books to be treated as luxury items, in particular for those published overseas,' Law says.
'To minimise our cost, we do not have a physical shop but limit our presence to a website and the warehouse in Mong Kok. We also a provide book-ordering service to our customers, as they often find it difficult to source the right books.
'My children lived with the story books of Oxford Reading Tree since they were babies and now they are both avid readers.'
