China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Rising online sales leaving bookstores on the shelf
The growth of internet shopping has resulted in a massive decline in the number of bricks-and-mortar outlets, as and report from Wuhan, Hubei.
While it’s common to see people holding cellphones as they ride China’s subways, it’s becoming increasingly rare to see more than two people in the same car reading books. Moreover, old-fashioned outlets that sell nothing but books are also becoming harder to find on China’s streets.
Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in Central China, is a microcosm of the situation across the country. In the past two decades, thousands of bookstores have closed down in the city, which boasts a higher proportion of university students — all potentially avid book readers — than many other major metropolises. Last year, university students accounted for 1.06 million of Wuhan’s population of almost 10.8 million.
According to Changjiang Daily, a newspaper in the city, in 2000, Wuhan was home to about 5,000 bookstores, but by 2015, the figure had fallen to 1,035. On the upside, Hubei Daily recently reported that the number rose by 10 percent last year.
Despite that seemingly good news, the reality is that life is hard for independent booksellers. Pressed by higher rents and competition from online bookstores, many bricks-and-mortar stores around the country are struggling to survive. Faced with low profits, or even losses, some owners are determined to keep their businesses alive simply because of their personal attachment to books.
Douban, located near the prestigious Wuhan University, has been in operation for more than 10 years, but it has been forced to relocate at least three times as a result of rising rents, according to Peng Ni, 25, who has managed the store for three years.
In a good month, Douban can make about 10,000 yuan ($1,495), but the monthly rent is 4,000 yuan and other costs also bite into the profits, she said.
The rise of online bookstores has also hit the sector hard. A few years ago, bookstore owners found it profitable to purchase low-priced “worstsellers” in bulk from publishing houses and then sell them on. However, the same books now retail at much lower prices on online stores, with the inevitable result that profit margins at physical stores are being further eroded, she added.
Sign of the times
Last year, online book sales in China outstripped those at bricksand-mortar stores for the first time, according to a report published by the Chinese Publishers Association in January, which noted that the value of online book sales reached 36.5 billion yuan, while offline sales stood at 33.6 billion yuan.
Peng said she has no choice but to control costs by purchasing fewer books and looking for cheaper busi- ness premises. If the problem becomes insurmountable, she will have no option but to fall back on her strategy for a worst-case scenario and move Douban to a residential area where rents are much lower.
Last year, when Douban’s owners were considering closing the store, many customers urged them to use crowdfunding to attract funding. However, a trial period raised just 17,000 yuan, which was “far from enough”, according to Peng.
“I will continue to work in the book industry even if Douban goes bankrupt. My work is related to my dreams and faith,” she said.
“Douban started as an outdoor bookstand. Our original intention was very simple. It was to open a bookstore that concentrated on the humanities and social sciences, and placed particular emphasis on academic studies. We think there should be bookstores of that kind near all universities, instead of outlets that mainly sell bestsellers,” she said.
In March last year, when Chen Fei started the Taiyang Bookstore in a residential area near Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the literature-loving graduate planned to make a living from his venture.
Taiyang specializes in high-end literature, but demand was so low that after six months Chen was forced to turn the store into a parttime operation and take a job as a welder at a factory that makes electronic equipment.
“I could not even make enough to cover the rent of 800 yuan a month,” the 28-year-old said, adding that he had so few customers last summer that he had to set up a stall on a busy pedestrian street to sell his wares.
In addition to his savings, Chen borrowed about 20,000 yuan to start the store, which is located in a converted 20-square-meter garage. He earns 3,000 yuan a month from his welding job, but after he has made debt repayments, there is nothing left to buy stock for the store. He now lives in the store to save money, but he is determined to continue following his dream.
“I started Taiyang, and I want to make it better,” he said.
Five years ago, there were five bookstores in the vicinity of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, but now there are only three, and their operations have been greatly reduced. Instead of books on humanities and social sciences, they now mainly sell textbooks and teaching aids for postgraduate exams, which are more profitable, according to Chen.
Simple life, simple mission
Huang Jie, 25, and his wife Xiao Nan, 29, started the Youhe Bookstore in late January 2015. Although the high rents forced them to relocate early in the store’s life, they began making a profit last year. Even so, the takings barely cover the couple’s living expenses, Xiao said.
She and her husband lead a sim- ple life, and most of the furniture in their store has been rescued from trash piles.
When he was in college and had little money, Huang often visited a secondhand bookstore near his campus in search of old volumes.
His enthusiasm deeply impressed the owner, who suggested that Huang open his own store and even sold a large number of books to the young man at low prices to help his fledgling endeavor.
Although many bookstores have started to incorporate other revenue streams — for example, selling coffee — Huang insists on running a “pure” operation.
“Outlets that sell coffee are not real bookstores,” he said. “Real bookstores are those that boast classic books that readers find enlightening.”
Though he now orders “lowbrow” books for specific customers to increase his takings, Huang plans to return to his dream of only selling books he believes are instructive. “My logic is that in 20 years these books will still be useful and people will still be buying them,” he said.
Though takings are low at present, Huang has been encouraged by a group of about 10 junior high school students who regularly visit his store.
“No matter how hard it becomes, I would like to continue running the store for their benefit” he said, adding that the time scale he envisages is about 12 years, by which time the children will be adults.
“I want the children to grow up along with the store.”