Taiwanese bookstore chain Eslite to open new Taikoo Shing megastore
It hasn't exactly been a good year for big bookstores, but at least one retailer is hoping to turn the page and begin an exciting new chapter.
Barely a week after Times Square's Page One outlet closed its doors for good and a month since Dymocks shut its flagship IFC store, Swire Properties has announced plans for a new Eslite megastore in Taikoo Shing early next year.
Eslite Spectrum Hong Kong - a lifestyle bookstore - will take up 49,000 square feet and two storeys of retail space at the Cityplaza mall, the developer said.
"Hosting the largest Eslite Spectrum store on Hong Kong Island, Cityplaza will expand its diversity to explore more possibilities for the city's retail scene," said the mall's general manager Fiona Shiu.
The move will be in line with the mall's recently completed "facelift" to refine its trade mix with "more exceptional brands".
Losing the Taikoo Shing space to Eslite will be the 27-year-old Wing On department store, which announced yesterday that Cityplaza was unwilling to renew or extend its lease when it expires this August.
The Taiwanese book chain said it hoped the new store would "continue to bring the energy of reading and cultural creativity to Hong Kong" and "make the city a better place". Eslite bookstores are known for multipurpose use of retail space combining exhibitions, live arts events and dining.
"The bookstore chain respects and learns from Hong Kong's cultural traits with the hope of soothing and calming millions' souls in the city," a spokeswoman for the chain said.
Eslite already operates a three-storey, 41,000 sq ft flagship store at the Hysan Place mall in Causeway Bay. It opened in 2012.
Publisher Jimmy Pang Chi-ming welcomed the announcement, saying any new point of sale, large or small, would be good for the publishing industry and for book readers.
"There are always ups and downs in the publishing industry in the face of digitisation, the internet and people reading fewer books," he said. "But just because it is in a slump now doesn't mean there is no value there."
He said the store's Tai Koo Shing location meant that it would target the higher-income, middle-class customer and that Eslite was clearly still confident in the market.
Hong Kong's largest English-language bookseller, Dymocks, closed its IFC store last month. The Australian company also announced the end of its 15-year local presence, leaving remaining outlets to operate independently.
Page One was forced to leave Times Square after 18 years this month to make way for renovations on the mall's ninth floor. The bookseller still has shops in Kowloon Tong, Tsim Sha Tsui and the airport.
