Take it as read: bookshops can use design to survive in the digital age
Despite the omnipresence of e-books and online libraries, bricks and mortar retailers such as Taiwan’s Eslite, which has stores here, are redefining book culture through chic cafes, cosy nooks, high-end design and 24-hour shopping
There was much ado in literary circles about British book retailer Foyles’ 2011 decision to fend off the digital media onslaught by investing in an “experience” bookstore. As in an actual, bricks and mortar shop.
“You can sit at home and buy a book, and have it delivered to your door, but you don’t get that social interaction,” says Janette Cross, Foyles’ head of customer experience, who notes a returning fondness for the immersive experience of browsing and sharing.
So in the face of market research predicting the demise of the printed word, Foyles closed its London flagship – a literary institution for 85 years – to open a highly designed new “experience” store a few doors down on Charing Cross Road.
It worked, from a commercial viewpoint, and Foyles has now expanded the concept to new stores in Birmingham (opened September 2015) and Bristol (last December). But while Foyles was lauded for its pluck in reviving reverence for the book, Freeman Lau, a Hong Kong-based designer, points out that the Chinese have been doing so for years.
He’s alluding to Eslite, the famous Taiwanese bookstore chain with stores throughout Taiwan, the mainland and Hong Kong, which has been redefining book culture since in 1989. Though its range of books is impressive, chic cafes, cosy nooks and high-end design have become the hallmarks of the Eslite brand.