24-hour bookstore set to close
10/3/2005 8:24
Shanghai Daily news
Less than two years after the city's first 24-hour bookstore opened amid much
fanfare, managers are preparing to either shut the shop down or move to another
location. "The store has been running at a deficit for a long time," said He
Genxiang, general manager of Shanghai Century Scholar Books Co Ltd, which
operates two other bookstores in the city. The problems are a combination of
a poor location, high rent, and the additional cost of staying open all
day. "The store's annual rent is 4.5 million yuan (US$542,169), which makes
it very difficult to keep the business running," said He. While the store
received some customers overnight on the weekends, few people took advantage of
the late night hours during the week, he said. Located in Pudong Road S., the
bookstore occupies 5,000 square meters including a coffee bar. While the
store has been a failure, the company still thinks a 24-hour bookstore is a good
idea, and they are looking at opening a new outlet, in a smaller, cheaper
location. "(A 24-hour bookstore is) a symbol of a culturally rich metropolis.
Shanghai is entitled to have such a bookstore, just like Chapters in Toronto and
Eslite in Taipei," He said when the store fist opened in 2003. Dong Jiangwei,
a one-time customer of the store said he wasn't surprised it will fold up. "The
location is not good. People who enjoy a good nightlife stay in Puxi. So it's
pointless and impractical to run an around-the-clock bookstore in
Pudong."
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