What else is left behind?, Apart from reluctance, the bookstore closest to the Bund has been open for 5 years and needs to say goodbye
"The atmosphere here is quite good, and walking in makes people want to read." Mr. Wang, who came from Shanxi, held a book with over 500 pages in his hand titled "Destiny's Decision: Ten Decisions that Changed the World from 1940 to 1941". "Traveling in Shanghai, I found the books I wanted to read." On August 30th, an ordinary workday, near the Reader's flagship store on Jiujiang Road on the Bund, people occasionally pushed their doors in through the drizzle. I heard that the bookstore is going to close next month, but Mr. Wang bluntly said, "It's a pity." He only found out when he walked in that "Reader" bookstore was the "Reader" of that "Reader" magazine. When he left, he used the panoramic mode of his phone camera to leave a record at the entrance of the bookstore.
Mr. Wang, who came to Shanxi for tourism, said, "I only found out when I came in that it was the bookstore opened by Reader. The atmosphere was very good, but it was a pity to close it." Photo by Shi Chenlu
On the evening of August 29, the WeChat official account of Readers' Bookstore announced that "due to the need of business optimization and adjustment of Readers' Cultural Creativity Co., Ltd., Readers · The Bund Flagship Store will officially take a curtain call on September 17, 2023". This bookstore, which opened on July 10, 2018, just celebrated its 5th birthday last month. At present, there are still signs at the entrance of the bookstore reading "Reader's Bookstore 5th Anniversary, Riding the Wind" and promotional information for the July anniversary celebration. A wall covered with the Reader's calendar as a message paper was filled with messages from readers.
At the entrance of the flagship store on the Bund, there is information about the 5th anniversary celebration and a wall filled with reader messages. Photographed by Shi Chenlu
The flagship store on the Bund is located in the Dasheng Building at 230 Jiujiang Road, which is a century old building. The Reader magazine, born in Lanzhou, Gansu, was founded in 1981 and has gone through more than 40 years of history. The Reader's Bookstore located on the Bund of Shanghai is the first collection concept store of the Reader brand in the country. At the beginning of its opening, the slogan was "A Reader that You Can Enter, A Bookstore with Stories".
Reader: The building where the flagship store on the Bund is located has a history of over a hundred years. Photo by Shi Chenlu
Reader who has just celebrated their 5th birthday, photographed by Shi Chenlu at the flagship store on the Bund
In the approximately 550 square meter space on the upper and lower floors of the Reader's Bookstore, there are two most prominent elements: the Reader magazine and Dunhuang culture. In the bookstore, there are display shelves for Reader magazine, glass floors paved with Reader magazine, and the "Silk Road Corridor" modeled after the Dunhuang Buddhist scripture cave style. The "Bund Study" reading area is the bookstore's fusion of Shanghai culture and history. There are many areas on the first and second floors where you can sit for reading and leisure. The "Reader's Coffee" next to the checkout area allows you to order drinks and desserts. The bookstore's self-developed cultural and creative products also occupy multiple exhibition booths.
In the Reader's Bookstore, Reader magazine and Dunhuang culture are the two most prominent elements. Photographed by Shi Chenlu
Photo taken by Shi Chenlu from the Silk Road Corridor in the Sutra Cave
Dunhuang cultural themed books are displayed in the "Sutra Cave". Photographed by Shi Chenlu
Reader Elements in the Reader's Bookstore, Cultural and Creative Studio, Morning Dew Photography
Photo by Shi Chenlu on the floor of Reader magazine
Photo by Shi Chenlu from the Reader magazine in the bookstore
"In terms of operating revenue, it is currently the highest among cultural and creative products, accounting for about 40%. There are many consumers ordering beverages, but the average order price is relatively low, which is about the same as book consumption." Store manager Xu Haidong has been working at Reader · Bund flagship store for 3 years, and has previously worked at several bookstores such as Volkswagen Bookstore and Zhongshuge. In his observation, "coffee, books, cultural and creative activities" have become the standard features of new physical bookstores nowadays. "A few years ago, physical bookstores began the first round of transformation, forming the current configuration and pattern. Now, they may have reached the threshold of the next round of transformation."
"Reader's Coffee" in the Bookstore, photographed by Shi Chenlu
Photo by Shi Chenlu in the activity area of the bookstore
"The revenue during summer vacation is about 2-3 times that of the off-season." Reader · The flagship store on the Bund is known as the "closest bookstore to the Bund", with a portion of the bookstore's customer base being tourists. Summer vacation is the peak season for bookstore operations. "However, although Jiujiang Road, where the bookstore is located, is very close to Nanjing East Road Pedestrian Street, the passenger flow shared is still limited. If there are many people in the bookstore, it may mean that Nanjing East Road is already overflowing with tourists," said Xu Haidong.
The atmosphere in the bookstore is relatively quiet. Photographed by Shi Chenlu
On weekday mornings, people gradually walked into the bookstore. Photographed by Shi Chenlu
"The entire industry is recovering," Xu Haidong said, "even if our bookstore is about to end, it is normal.". The Bund Source, not far away, has been preparing for the first store of "Naive Ideal Country" bookstore in Shanghai for a long time. This is a physical space under the publishing brand "Ideal Country", and Xu Haidong is also very concerned about the Shanghai Book City that will soon open after the renovation of Fuzhou Road. "For the industry, Shanghai Book City is a benchmark, and its reopening is not only a summary of the development of the physical bookstore industry in the past decade, but also a signal of future development and transformation."
In the bookstore, the reporter met Ms. Xiao from Hefei, who was sitting on a sofa chair in the corner of the Silk Road corridor with her fifth grade elementary school son. She said, "I have been traveling to Shanghai for three or four days, and it has been raining these days. It's great to have such a place to read.".
Ms. Xiao from Hefei spends her time reading with her child at a bookstore. Photo by Shi Chenlu
Mr. Wu, a financial industry practitioner, is used to visiting bookstores for meetings nearby. He is not very fond of buying books, but may order a drink. He has also applied for a membership card from a nearby bookstore before.
Ms. Yan, who works four subway stations away from the bookstore, came specifically upon seeing the news of the closure. "Although it's not far, I haven't been here before, so it's a pity that the bookstore has closed," she said.
Ms. Li, who works at a research unit, walked straight up to the second floor of the store and recorded a video in front of the glass floor of Reader magazine. "I'm from Lanzhou and have feelings for Reader magazine. I saw the news in a 'hiking group' this morning and came quickly," she said
Ms. Li, a native of Lanzhou, is visiting the flagship store on the Bund for the second time. Photo by Shi Chenlu
A family of four from Zhejiang, my mother and two children chose a lot of books and stationery, while my father was working in the corner of the bookstore, facing his laptop. When checking out, he learned that the bookstore was closing next month. The fourth grade boy in elementary school asked, "Why is it closing?" Xu Haidong smiled and said, "The rent is too expensive."
A family of readers from Zhejiang, photographed by Shi Chenlu
Store manager Xu Haidong is looking for goods for the little girl, photographed by Shi Chenlu
"On the one hand, it is the expiration of the lease, and on the other hand, the adjustment of the store is also based on the overall strategy of the company. In the future, our business focus will shift to light asset operation." Zhang Chao, the Operations Director of Reader Culture and Creativity Co., Ltd., told reporters, "Regardless of whether this store is located or not, the cultural services we provide to readers will continue. This includes the Dunhuang Cultural Festival and Reader Culture Week launched by the bookstore in the past two years, which will continue to meet readers in different forms. If we used this store as a carrier in the past, we may open branches and leaves in various places in Shanghai in the future, not limited to one store."
Zhang Chao introduced that Reader Culture and Creativity Co., Ltd., established in 2017, has undertaken the transformation and expansion mission of Reader Publishing Group headquartered in Lanzhou, Gansu. Currently, its business is mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta. "Our parent company operates Xinhua Bookstore and Northwest Bookstore in Gansu, and has been cultivating in the physical bookstore industry for many years. As a new cultural space that integrates various formats, Reader · Bund flagship store in Shanghai is the first. Over the past five years of operation, it has achieved good social benefits, further expanded the influence of the reader brand, and completed its historical mission."
At present, Reader Culture and Creativity Co., Ltd. operates and cooperates in cultural spaces in Shanghai, as well as Reader Yilin Cultural Space by Meilan Lake in Baoshan District. This is a space jointly created with Shanghai Yilin Cultural Co., Ltd. The first floor is a bookstore, and the second and third floors are aesthetic and exhibition spaces; Reader · Suhe Cultural Space on South Suzhou Road in Huangpu District, a community library in cooperation with Nanjing East Road Street; There are also multiple "reader study rooms" that are open irregularly.
"There will still be direct operated bookstores in Shanghai in the future. Currently, there are several projects under negotiation, but they have not been finalized." Zhang Chao admitted that opening a bookstore faces certain contradictions. On the one hand, bookstores undertake certain social and public cultural functions, and on the other hand, they need to explore market-oriented business models, and seek a good transformation between the two. "In the future, we will undertake space operations that focus on social welfare, and will also explore the creation of an updated cultural space with integrated formats. If Reader · The Bund flagship store is the first step of exploration, the second store will try a more mature format. Including more popular cultural and creative products for readers, we will continue to develop them, and through the sales of 'Reader' Tiktok, 'Reader' will never break the link with readers."
Reader's message at Reader's Bookstore, photographed by Shi Chenlu
It is reported that Reader · The Bund flagship store has accumulated hundreds of members, and we will do a good job in aftermath before closing the store. The bookstore announcement also stated that it will continue to carry out a series of feedback activities from now on. Membership cards can be consumed or refunded in the store before September 17th, and can also be continued to be used on the Reader's Bookstore's Like Mall.
At the end of this month, Hengshan · Heji located in Xujiahui will end its 8-year operation, followed by the closing ceremony of Reader · Bund flagship store. Many citizens expressed their nostalgia and reluctance to part ways with the small bookstore. New bookstores have also been meeting with the public one after another - Fan Shu | Fan Deng Bookstore located in C Park, a large park commercial complex in Changning District, opened during the Shanghai Book Fair. In conjunction with Chen Bochui's Children's Literature Museum, Meilan Lakeside · Da Yin Bookstore is about to open
Where is the future bookstore heading? The answer may not be clear yet. "Nowadays, bookstores may be places where people come in and take a seat when they have free time or pass by, but it is not a necessary option. We want the cultural attributes of bookstores to be more closely related to daily life, rather than just serving a portion of people with spiritual and cultural needs. How to subtly convey the fragrance of books to more people may require deeper integration in various aspects of clothing, food, housing, and transportation." Zhang Chao envisioned this.
