Books rebound as readers crown hard copy king
The future of independent bookstores is looking bright, thanks to the younger generation.
For years, speculation was rife that digital markets such as e-books would result in the death of the print industry and subsequently the closure of bookstores.
But the opposite appears to have happened – business is booming.
Bookseller NZ’s media and marketing manager, Sarah Forster, said turnover was being driven by the sales of books for children and young adults.
‘‘We have seen children’s imprints added by several NZ publishers, and some who never published children’s books previously are sneaking some onto their list.
‘‘This is partially due to it being a part of the sector that e-books haven’t made real inroads into and partially because parents and grandparents want to drive a love of books in their children.’’
The owner of Wardini Books in Wellington, Louise Ward, said her business has been so successful that she and her husband recently opened their second store in Napier.
‘‘You don’t get into bookselling to become rich, but thankfully there’s less of a trend towards e-books nowadays. People are coming back for hard copies, they want to come into a bookshop.’’
Wellington’s Ekor bookshop owner, Niki Ward, said customers had become bored with e-books.
E-books were also not as cheap as they once were and customers preferred the hard-copy versions.
Ward said a lot of people think ‘‘that’s a weird idea, having a bookstore. It’s really about customer service and creating exciting activities.
‘‘You need to just do what you do; people will catch onto the excitement and passion.’’
According to Forster, independent
We have seen children’s imprints added by several NZ publishers, and some who never published children’s books previously are sneaking some onto their list. Sarah Forster
bookshops remain strong in
New Zealand.
‘‘We have seen indies improving year-on-year’’.
‘‘People visit independent bookstores to find their people and find books they can’t get anywhere else. We are also seeing independent bookshops adding more strings to their bow – cafe´, toys, but also small add-on type purchase options, like quirky socks,’’ she said.
Forster also said more bookshops were changing hands as opposed to being closed down and several new stores had opened up around New Zealand in the past year.