Don't judge a bookstore by its cover

Don't judge a bookstore by its cover

By I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): The romantic comedy You've Got Mail portrays how
a giant bookstore chain puts an independent, small bookstore out
of business. People like to spend time in a bookstore that also
offers coffee, Internet connections and other conveniences that
keep them entertained for hours.

The two rival bookstores in the movie are totally different.
One is a tiny bookstore catering to children, with a
knowledgeable and book-loving staff, while the other is a modern,
sophisticated superbookstore. The latter appeals to a much larger
segment of the population, but employs a less knowledgeable
staff.

To succeed in the bookstore business requires strategies other
than simply offering discount prices to attract more customers.

In Indonesia, like in any other country, most book prices are
set by the publishing companies, not the bookstores.

So just like the superbookstore Fox Books in the movie, many
bookstores try to attract people by offering a wide variety of
books, stationery, as well as other related commodities. And some
of the big bookstores here have tried to offer merchandise other
than books.

For example, Gunung Agung, a leading bookstore chain in
Indonesia with 27 outlets, also offers stationery.

"Books account for only about 30 percent of the items we
offer, while the other 65 percent is stationery and the remaining
5 percent is music and sports items," said the company's
corporate secretary, Donny S. Sutadi.

But he said that over its 48 years of business, Gunung Agung
has been able to maintain its reputation as a bookstore chain
that offers customers the most popular books before they hit the
racks at other bookstores.

"The bookstores offer general books, but we always try to
offer favorites or other most-wanted books earlier than any other
store," he said.

Gunung Agung's manager of merchandising, R. Eko Hananto, said
the chain's book supply, however, was dependent on the publishing
companies.

"We get local books from the publishing companies and import
books or magazines through distributors," he said.

Both the publishing companies and distributors have set price
lists that bookstores cannot change.

"Bookstores profit from the discounts offered by the
publishing companies and distributors. The rates of the discount
depend on the amount of books we order," he said.

Yohan Slamet, general manager of Tropen bookstore in Pasar
Baru, Central Jakarta, said that the discounts also varied
depending on the type of the book.

"Bookstores generally get a maximum 30 percent discount from
the publishing companies. In addition to the number of orders,
the discount also depends on the type of book.

"It varies around 25 percent for fiction, around 30 percent
for nonfiction and between 20 percent and 25 percent for school
textbooks. Bookstores usually get maximum discounts for an order
of a minimum of 100 copies per title," he said.

Both Eko and Yohan said the only opportunity for many
bookstores to offer discount prices on certain books was during
the beginning of the new school term.

"We have to compete with schools, especially elementary and
high schools, which now also sell books for the pupils. Many
parents just want to see the books that are available at the
school when enrolling their children," said Eko.

Yohan said that Tropen, which opened in 1929 and claims to be
the oldest bookstore in Indonesia, would offer up to a 20 percent
discount on school textbooks.

"Otherwise we won't sell the books," he said.

Competition

Since book prices are generally always the same, bookstores in
Indonesia have to compete in their services and marketing.

Eko said a bookstore that is part of a publishing house would
not offer books published by rival publishing houses that also
run bookstores.

Yohan said a bookstore would win the competition if it could
offer something special.

"Tropen, for instance, is well-known for its medical books. We
have regular customers from hospitals, schools of medicine, as
well as scholars."

According to Yohan, smaller, individual bookstores have agreed
among themselves to specialize in a particular field to survive
the tough competition.

"Just like Tropen, which focuses on imported medical books,
other smaller, independent bookstores are focusing on law books,
social/political books and so on. So everyone can survive as each
of the individual bookstores has its own specialization," he
said.

He said the major challenge for imported books was the price,
as they were regarded as luxury goods and hit with high import
duties.

Such a win-win solution for independent bookstores is
reasonable considering that only a small percentage of
Indonesians are fond of reading.

"My experience in selling books since 1982 tells me that
reading is not yet a habit for most Indonesians. People only buy
books when they have to, particularly school textbooks," said
Yohan.

To lure more potential buyers, some big bookstores are trying
to become places where people can browse and hang out. They also
try to offer a vast selection of books and hire employees who are
knowledgeable and helpful.