World’s Favourite Bookstore Chains
We live in the era of digitization, and naturally, most believe that the rise of digital ravages all industries. But among all these, one particular sector is still holding its ground. Well, it might come as a surprise, but it’s the industry of books. Yes, research shows that the global market for books shows no signs of slacking down. But it needs to be mentioned that even though there’s a growth in total books sold yearly, a large part of the business, like hardbacks, is gradually shifting to eBooks.
Regarding retail, few bookshops have been abolished while others showered resilience. Some are even flourishing. With just a little research, we can get an overview of the largest bookstore chains in the world and how they are doing these businesses in this market of intense competition. Here are a few bookstore chains that are thriving and crossing readers’ minds whenever they are thinking of buying books:
- Amazon: Amazon is one of the world’s largest online distribution channels that has provided more U.S. jobs in the last decade than any other company. And these are not some ‘just for show’ jobs. They pay at least $15 per hour, which is more than double the federal minimum wage and comes with comprehensive benefits. They also invest in entrepreneurs, artisans, and small businesses that sell in the Amazon Store. The first Amazon Books store opened on November 2, 2015, at the University Shopping Centre in Seattle, Washington. They started with five thousand titles stocked on their bookshelves, with the cover of the books facing outwards instead of spines. They organised everything this way because they value showcasing authors and their works more than tactful use of space. Now Amazon can be considered a goldmine when it comes to discovering new books and bestsellers.
- Flipkart: Apart from Amazon, Flipkart is another global online book distribution channel thriving in this market. It is an Indian company headquartered in Bangaluru and comes second in this list. It competes with Amazon’s Indian subsidiary. As a bookstore channel, Flipkart is also flourishing and showing no signs of slowing down.
- Barnes & Noble: Barnes & Noble was founded in 1873 with Charles Barnes’ book-printing business in Illinois. Their first bookstore was set up by his son, William, with G. Clifford Noble in New York City, which opened during World War I. In 1932 during the Great Depression, the bookstore was moved to its original location of 18th Street and Fifth Avenue.
- Waterstones: Waterstones was formerly known as Waterstone’s. It is a British book retailer that operates more than three hundred shops in the United Kingdom and other neighbouring countries. It was established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone and changed hands several times in the following years. Now it employs around three thousand staff in the United Kingdom and Europe. An average-sized Waterstones shop sells a range of approximately thirty thousand individual books.
- Shakespeare and Company: Shakespeare and Company is an English-language bookshop founded in the year 1951 and located in the heart of Paris, right opposite Notre Dam. The bookshop was founded by an American man, George Whitman, in the early 17th century, and the building was originally a monastery. Later it became an immensely popular bookshop, but after the Covid-19 pandemic, its sales dropped by 80%.
Apart from these, there are many other bookstore chains like, The Book Depository, AbeBooks, Books-A-Million and so on. It must be said that even though there are ups and downs, books are one thing people will never get bored of, and with proper tactics, initiatives, and adjustments, this business will not only sustain but get better and richer than ever. So, if you want to publish your own book, do not worry about this industry’s resilience. It has still got it.
