Case Study – Stuck at the Crossroad

The Indian book retail industry is estimated to be over Rs 3,000 crore, out of which organised

retail accounts for only 7 per cent. Book retail contributes only about 1 per cent to the overall

retail industry. Text and curriculum books account for about 50 per cent of the sales. Second-

hand books are also a big chunk of the book retail market. Book retailers are focusing on

improved customer experience. Many book stores have also introduced coffee shops and provide

a library-like atmosphere where customers can sit and read, while sipping coffee.

Crosswords - The name embodies the vision of a place and space for people and families who

seek information, knowledge or just the pleasure of reading. Crossword stocks the widest range

of Books – Movies- Music- Toys- Stationery- Magazines and DVDs. Since its inception in 15th

October 1992, Crossword has received wide recognition for its achievements; articles on

retailing in India invariably feature Crossword. It has been featured in Advertising Age

International, USA, as one of the Marketing Superstars for 1994. The Bookseller, UK, has also

described it as ‘being on the cutting edge of retailing’ in India.

But now, the competition has struck them hard – not only them but other competitors having

large format book store chain retailers like Landmark’s, Om Book Shop, Oxford, Just Books,

Odyssey, Reliance TimeOut and other local and neighborhood book shops as well. Nearly a year

ago, Tata Group’s Landmark store in Mumbai’s Phoenix Mills was closed for renovation. It has

not yet reopened. Last heard, Landmark executives were renegotiating rentals with the Ruias,

who own the property. It’s not clear when the Phoenix store will rise again. Reliance TimeOut is

said to have shut at over six locations across the country. Odyssey, once the most aggressive of
them all, is now a shadow of its former self. From a massive 78 stores, the Chennai chain that

sold everything from gifts and toys to books has just six stores now; three each in Andhra

Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Thanks to the internet and e-books – the very format of traditional reading has changed.

“Publishers worldwide might be getting 61 per cent of their business through the digital medium

now, but the discovery of books online is only 6 per cent,” says Gautam Padmanabhan, CEO of

publisher Westland. “We depend on brick-and-mortar bookstores to promote titles.” While

Nielsen Book estimates that book retail is growing more than 30 per cent a year in India, most of

the offline book retailers such as Landmark (left) and Crossword saw sales falling or migrating

to online sellers such as Flipkart, InfiBeam, Kindle and now Amazon-India. Pavement sellers

such as those in Delhi’s Darya Ganj that offer up to 80 per cent discount on titles still manage to

do well.

So, how did bookstore retailers get it all wrong? Most of the large chains — Landmark, Odyssey

or Reliance TimeOut — offered more than just books to customers. The name of the game was

the widest range. For instance, outlets of TimeOut reportedly offer 135,000 books of every

genre, over 65,000 movie and music titles, 21,000 stationery items, 8,000 toys, 19,000 gifts

articles and even a wide range of gaming formats.

Here is the problem: if the leader category in a store is books, it is unlikely that a large section of

the consumer base is going to walk into the store and pick up watches or perfumes. It also

requires a lot of staying power even as chains are expanding into newer territories while funding

the existing stores.  If book sales fall, sales of other categories in the store get affected too.

Remember Archies, the popular cards and gifts chain of the 1990s? When e-cards came along,
greeting cards were tossed. Unfortunately for Archies, consumers identified it more with its

leader category (cards) and ignored the gift section.

What underscores book lovers’ penny-pinching ways is the success of e-tailers selling books at,

say, 30 per cent discount and finding enough takers. Take author Amish Tripathi’s third book in

the Shiva Trilogy, The Oath of the Vayuputras, which was offered 15 per cent discount for pre-

launch bookings in outlets such as Oxford Bookstore. Online buyers get as much as 30 per cent

off if they book it in advance. Sure, brick-and-mortar retailers cannot pass on their savings

directly to consumers, like e-tailers. But things are not that simple in e-tailing either.

Warehousing costs are increasing, as is the cost of logistics and marketing. Even e-tailers face a

big squeeze in their margins. “Customers rarely buy fiction online as the discount is too little,”

says a retailer. He says in big-ticket items such as business management or foreign titles, where a

discount means significant savings, buyers would buy online.

The kids’ section was always a bookstore’s favourite. So, categories such as toys are coming up

in a big way. Landmark has announced an exclusive tie-up with eco-friendly German toy maker,

Hape Toys. Toys form 20 per cent of sales at Landmark. At Crossword, they make up 8-10 per

cent of sales. Sivaraman Balakrishnan, head of marketing at Crossword, says ‘in small towns,

non-book revenues sometimes account for 55 per cent of sales. But the bookstore is no longer

just a bookstore, it’s a social setting’. 

Independent book stores have their own charm and a clear positioning, something that chains

could learn from. There are examples of standalone stores doing well for themselves.

Kitabkhana, a standalone 8,000 sq. ft bookstore in Mumbai is one. Opened in 2011, it has been

growing at 30 per cent annually, says store manager T. Jagath. Even in cases where stores have

eventually folded up, like Manneys in Pune, Singh says the reasons for closure were other than
the business becoming unsustainable — in this case, the owner was too old to continue.

Customers for specific genres (mind, spirituality, travel, fact & fiction, Politics, Literature) are

most likely to be loyal to these shops.

Nearly a year ago — in August 2012 — British newspapers reported that for every 100 books

bought in bookstores in 2012, there were 114 e-books bought from online retailer major

Amazon. Suddenly, it seemed like the beginning of the end for the dog-eared, paperback pulp

fiction novels that entertained the last two or three generations of readers. Data on book sales is

hard to get, and often delayed, but even the figures for 2011 seem to support that trend in the

UK. Using data from 250 publishers, the Publishers Association pegged the value of all digital e-

books bought by consumers at £92 million (approximately Rs 750 crore) in 2011.

The BookStats survey even acknowledges that brick-and-mortar stores remain the primary

channel for books. Stepping back across the pond, you can take heart even more; in 2012,

Amazon went into partnership with Waterstones, the UK’s largest brick-and-mortar bookstore.

What does it mean? Your favourite 200-page potboiler isn’t going anywhere yet.

As a Marketing Consultant, explain the following:

a) Crossword’s is planning to expand online digital retail in a big way. Identify Market

Segments and select Target Segment giving reasons

b) With the advent of e-books and online delivery channels, design Crossword’s strategy

that will make readers stick to physical books at physical stores.