Books are big business in Hong Kong. The proof can be gleaned from the ever-growing number of visitors to the annual Hong Kong Book Fair. This year's fair saw new attendance records of more than 760,000. The demise of books is highly overrated, but that does not mean that local booksellers do not face stiff competition.
A quick search through the yellow pages will give you names of hundreds of book retailers in Hong Kong. Regardless of their size, they sell books to meet different tastes of customers and offer unique services to differentiate from the competition.
'The market is growing, with more bookshop operators wanting to come to Hong Kong to get into the China market,' said Charles Kwan, assistant general manager for the Commercial Press (HK) which now operates 19 stores, with their flagship stores in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui alone selling 200,000 English and Chinese titles each year.
Many Hong Kong bookshop operators have embraced the idea of a more spacious, comfortable and modern-looking retail environment with a wider range of products, and take their customers' needs seriously in their business strategies.
General manager of Dymocks Franchise System, Wang Hsiao-hui said: 'In our survey, we found that customers not only want a wide range of products, but also want bookstores to be convenient, with enough space. We try to keep our shops to around 2,000 sqft, which seems to be enough space. If a store is too big, customers can feel intimidated.'
High rent is a big concern for most bookshop operators in Hong Kong. 'Our profit margin is not the same as the fashion or food and beverage industries, so we need to be mindful of the size of the space,' Ms Wang said.
For booksellers, understanding customer needs is vital. It helps operators to react to market demand and stay competitive. 'The fastest growing business area is children's books, especially English books,' Ms Wang said. 'Hong Kong parents want to help their children [to do well] in schools, so they are willing to buy many English language books for their children.'