Take the road of characteristic management to save the physical bookstore

In the digital age, operators should perhaps jump out of the rigid "frame" of the definition of the function of physical bookstores and explore a new way of "immortality" in the new era.

Chain bookstore: integrated retailer

W H Smith Bookstore Group is a famous chain bookstore in the UK, with more than 1000 branches all over the big cities and towns in the UK. Smith Bookstore Group still mainly sells paper books, relying on a clear core business positioning, the bookstore has not been too much impact by e-commerce and e-books.

Smith Bookstore focuses on tourist bookstores and high street bookstores. W H Smith stores can be seen on almost all the high streets in England. As of August 31, 2011, there were 612 high street bookstores in nearly 1200 stores of the Smith Bookstore Group. At present, 91% of Britons can see a W H Smith bookstore within 20 minutes by car. This kind of bookstore is not a traditional bookstore, but also deals in stationery, books, newspapers and magazines. Pre-tax profits rose 3% in the six months to February 28, 2011, according to the Smith bookstore group. The bookstore is also firmly committed to this position, and it has been clearly stated in the 2010 annual report of W H Smith Bookstore to be the largest stationer, bookseller and newspaper distributor in the UK.

Another "half" of the Smith Bookstore Group's business is travel bookstores, with 561 bookstores in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, India and Australia. Most of these bookstores with "travel cards" are located in tourist gathering areas such as airports, railway stations and highway service areas, which attract nearly 240 million tourists every year.

Independent Bookstore: taking the Road of characteristic Management

Compared with large chain bookstores, independent bookstores with limited economic scale tend to use characteristic management to resist the impact of the digital age. David Ford, owner of the Saltaire Bookstore in the UK, said: "it is very difficult for independent bookstores to survive without providing other activities and services and relying solely on selling books." In his bookstore, while expanding the range of books and rearranging them on the shelves, a writers' event is held every Thursday, while wine is sold for £1 a glass. It is reported that this form of book sale has attracted a large number of customers.

A large number of characteristic bookstores similar to Saltaire bookstores exist in Europe and the United States, these bookstores operate around the characteristics of local residents and their own advantages, and do not come to an end because of the impact of the Internet and e-books. The Red sofa Bookstore in the UK takes advantage of the comfortable environment to create business opportunities. In this bookstore, there is an art gallery offering tea, coffee and simple pastries. Customers can sit on sofas and armchairs to enjoy the exhibition. By providing a space for art appreciation and communication, the bookstore has established contacts with many art groups, local schools and poetry groups, thus enabling more customers to participate in bookstore activities, increasing the number of bookstore visitors and increasing sales.

In the United States, some independent bookstores have even become a unique scenery in the city. Independent bookstores tend to have a warm and comfortable, unique decorative style, and highlight their own distinctive features in book selection, such as providing poetry, philosophy, literature or children's books. Some independent bookstores also accept orders and offer rare book search services. In marketing, independent bookstores and chain bookstores operate physical stores and online stores at the same time through e-mail, social networking sites and other means. However, some independent bookstores also produce special videos to talk about American articles and launch readers' blog posts, so that customers can also communicate with shop assistants and other readers outside the bookstore. (yuan Yuan)

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