Popular boss Chou Cheng-ngok reads between the lines on bookselling business

Chou Cheng-ngok is a man of contradictions. He is no bookworm, yet pours money into the "loss-making business" of bookselling - and calls himself an idiot for doing so. Refusing to put a monetary value on it, the boss of the Popular business empire also bristles at the thought of people giving up reading, or the suggestion that books are a sunset industry. "It is part of human civilisation. I'll be very stubborn about it," Chou said. "Dinosaurs died because they failed to evolve. Human beings can evolve." That said, the group chief executive and majority shareholder of Popular Holdings would be the last to patronise his own stores. The demands of managing a business spread across five countries at the age of 77 is only one reason. "Honestly, I don't have a personal passion for books," Chou confessed in an interview at the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai. "I read The Economist, Fortune and Time magazines." With that, he drained the last of his tea before rushing off next door to the 25th edition of the Book Fair. A book, Chou says, is something to be savoured on a leisurely Sunday, not dipped into during breaks between tasks. Hongkongers are no stranger to Chou's Singapore-listed Popular brand, which has 17 bookshops across the city. It has been in Hong Kong since 1949, when World Publishing Company was set up to publish magazines and Chinese books, followed by Educational Publishing House to focus on the textbook market. The business traces its roots to the Cheng Hing Company, a distributor of Chinese books founded by Cheng-ngok's father, Chou Sing-chu, 90 years ago when he left China for Singapore. A decade later, Cheng Hing was grouped under the World Book Company, and in 1936, Chinese book retailing started under the name of Popular Book Company. Chou, freshly armed with a master's degree in political science from the United States, moved to Hong Kong in 1964. Films were then the most popular form of entertainment, and movie magnate Sir Run Run Shaw was among his big publishing clients. He took over Popular in the 1980s, when it was making a foray into Malaysia. The group also went into textbook publishing in Canada and mainland China, and children's books in Britain, where titles were published under the name "Robin", after a bird that would eat the "Ladybird", a London-based publisher of children's books, Chou said with a laugh. Popular Holdings now has about 160 retail outlets, more than 1.5 million members and organises its own book fairs in Singapore and Malaysia. It is also the largest exporter of titles from Taiwan and mainland China, and runs the biggest bookstore chain in Malaysia. Apart from books, the company's portfolio has widened to cover food and beverages, property development, education and e-learning. It even has its own brand of stationery. For the financial year to April, Popular's revenue rose 5.3 per cent to S$551.8 million (HK$3.45 billion), driven by property sales. Retail revenue was about the same as the year before, with new outlets and fairs offset by the closure of two big shops. Net profit after tax dived more than 54 per cent to S$10.6 million. It has been an immense challenge to remain competitive in the face of skyrocketing rentals and ebbing interest in books. In its heyday, bookselling in Central and Sheung Wan was spread across about 46 stores in the '50s to '70s, and 43 in Mong Kok. Now there are just a handful. "It's sad; it's very sad," Chou said, shaking his head. People were reading less because of the many distractions and insufficient guidance at home and school, he said. Chou has tried to beat the trend by investing more in the shops to boost their appeal. He spent S$1.5 million to renovate an outlet of Prologue, under the Popular group, in Singapore, with ribbon-like canopies and dramatic colours against a black backdrop. Although he is proud of the design, he said: "I'm an idiot … Books are losing money every year. Rents are increasing every year." In a title released this year reviewing the bookselling industry, Chou wrote that if bookshops died out, it would be landlords, not the internet, to blame. Families and governments would also be responsible, he said. Reading had to be nurtured and made a family activity. Chou described the Hong Kong government as "oblivious" to promoting a reading culture. The Malaysian government subsidised books for secondary school pupils, whereas in Singapore, schools had reading lessons and libraries were found in shopping centres. "If you want to encourage reading, you bring books close to them," he said. He was scornful of the West Kowloon Cultural District with its current estimated HK$47 billion price tag. "What for? For people to shop in? Dictators like to build monuments. What value do you have in monuments?" he asked. For Chou, keeping books alive is a commitment. Reading makes a tremendous difference in a person, making one more sophisticated and knowledgeable. "For me it's very natural. It's not a sentiment," he said. "My father started from nothing - he taught himself English and Chinese from reading. [Books are] part of what human beings should have." Chou Cheng-ngok Age 77 Career Popular Holdings group chief executive, executive director and majority shareholder. More than 40 subsidiaries operating in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, mainland China, Britain and Canada History 1924 Father Chou Sing-chu began Chinese storybook distributor Cheng Hing Company, precursor of Popular group, in Singapore. Branched out into publishing and retail in Singapore in 1930s. 1949 World Publishing Company established in Hong Kong. 1964 The younger Chou arrived in Hong Kong. Managed Fook Hing Offset Printing Company. 1980s Chou became Popular executive director. 1997 Popular listed on Singapore Exchange main board.

Popular boss Chou Cheng-ngok reads between the lines on bookselling business

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Boss of Popular empire calls himself an idiot for throwing cash at a loss-making industry but he says books are too important to give up on

Boss of Popular empire calls himself an idiot for throwing cash at a loss-making industry but he says books are too important to give up on