Hole-in-the-wall bookstores are making their mark – albeit a quiet one. With BooksActually at Club Street (located with its newer sister operation Polymath & Crust) considered a pioneer of sorts among these little independent bookstores, there is now a plethora of such specialised shops whose unusual marketing strategies position them as earnest underdogs in an arena of mainstream giants.
Take 25 degree Celsius, located at Keong Saik Road. Started in 2007 by Sally Tsai and Karin Chan, the store sells cookbooks and comes complete with a café and test kitchen for cooking workshops. The partners started the bookstore as an add-on to their lifelong dream of setting up a café, and unexpectedly stumbled into a viable niche market. “We noticed chefs, particularly those working in the area, were visiting our store and looking at the books, sometimes requesting certain very industry-specific ‘hardcore’ cookbooks, so we started looking into them,” said Sally, a baking enthusiast. 25 degree Celsius, started with some $400,000 in capital, is now the exclusive distributor of specialised cookbooks such as those from the Spanish Montague Group and Atius, a haute cuisine trade journal for chefs.
The bookstore occasionally carries specially sourced books. “When French pastry chef Pierre Hermé was in town in 2008, it sparked off a frenzy and people were going around looking frantically for his books,” recalled Sally. “After much digging, we managed to acquire two out-of-print second-hand copies of the highly sought-after book, Desserts.”
And it is this personal touch that makes the difference. As Karen Wai, BooksActually co-owner said to the Business Times, “The difference between us and the bigger chain stores is that we offer a curation of books.” The active engagement of customers has paid off for 25 degree Celsius whose word-of-mouth reputation among enthusiasts has won them renown far beyond local circles – in fact, there’s a good chance of spotting foreign chefs browsing the shelves whenever a culinary meet is in town.
The spirit of the underdog
Sally and Karin of 25 degree Celsius
To say that such successes are a hard slog for the proprietors of small outfits like 25 degree Celsius is something of an understatement. Despite the growing buzz, a dedicated fan base and modest sales, specialised bookstores face the challenge of maintaining volumes. Higher upfront costs also add to the risk. Unlike big bookstores that can negotiate on credit and have a dedicated distribution chain where unsold books can be returned to the publishers, small bookstores often do not have that edge. With razor-thin margins, even ‘pioneers’ like BooksActually, which opened about four years ago, have only just begun to break even.
Over at La Libreria (which means ‘The Bookstore’ in both Italian and Spanish), Japanese owner Eriko Hirashima said she’s lucky to sell even one book a week. Her collection of about 300 titles falls under the unique genre of book art – works of art realised in the format of a book, featuring text, sculpture, graphics, cut-outs, amongst other forms. These unique creations are often published in limited editions and can cost hundreds of dollars.
Eriko Hirashima, founder of La Liberia
What Eriko sells are curator-worthy – a book in the form of a large egg and pop-up books with intricate details and designs. A book artist herself, Eriko is committed to promoting book art and sees her store more as a platform for her art than a revenue generator. In business since 2004, she has yet to see any profits. “I’m sacrificing myself to do this, funding it from my own pay (from part-time lecturing),” she told Singapore from her studio at the National University of Singapore’s University Cultural Centre, where her store occupies a space in the third storey of the museum.
“The difference between us and the bigger chainstores is that we offer a curation of books.” – Karen Wai, BooksActually
She’s not the only one struggling with selling book art. “Even big stores like Kinokuniya know how difficult it is,” she mused. “It used to sell a small collection of book art and a few years ago, I saw a particular one that I liked at the Bugis store. I did not act on it till later, and was told that the collection was returned as it did not sell well.”
Nevertheless, Eriko is soldiering on and finding opportunities in other aspects of book artistry. It turns out bookbinding services are in demand, so Eriko now runs bookbinding workshops almost every weekend. “In Europe, you can throw a stone and find a bookbinder anywhere, but here it is really difficult,” said the Singapore permanent resident who has been here since 2000, after graduating with a Masters in Art from Goldsmiths, University of London.
Books and more
Hellen Jiang of Cat Socrates
Then there’s Chinese lifestyle bookstore and café Cat Socrates which takes a strategy of diversification to shore up business. Apart from Chinese titles, the softly-lit 800-square-foot shop on the third floor of traditional book haunt Bras Brasah Complex also sells an eclectic range of paper products (such as notebooks and decorative paper), stationery and tin toys. The laidback nook is a favourite of students and arty types.
According to owner Hellen Jiang, a Shanghai native and Singapore PR, the tactic was in response to the small Chinese readership in Singapore. Indeed, a dwindling customer base saw the closure of the Singapore branch of the Commercial Press – a Chinese publishing giant – in June last year. But to add fresh appeal, Cat Socates’ collection of Chinese books includes graphic books, contemporary writing, independent style and music magazines, as well as translated literature by Milan Kundera and Haruki Murakami. Hellen also stocks music by independent bands in the region. She has lately started supplying paper products and photographic film to other stores, widening her revenue base. Taking a similar tact to expand their reach is 25 degree Celsius, which plans to expand the business to include selling specialised cooking equipment such as gadgets for molecular cuisine.
It’s this dedication to the building of something special that keeps the indie bookstore business going – and judging by the innovative spirit of these enterprises, there’s momentum building yet for the sector.
For Hellen, her efforts have paid off. Set up in September 2008 just before the economy went into a tailspin, Cat Socrates has managed to make good on its initial investment of $100,000 and saw a profit within the year. 25 degree Celsius has yet to do so, but both businesses are planning for expansion.
Sally’s hope is for more neighbours to join the growing number of similar stores at the Club Street locale already. “I hope the whole area becomes home to indie bookstores!”
Book Chic
25 degree Celsius
A bookstore, café, bar and test kitchen feature in the recipe of this Keong Saik shopfront specialising in cookbooks. Look out for a delectable selection of obscure trade books among more mainstream titles. Best time for chef spotting is 3–4pm during their break.
www.25degreec.com
BooksActually / Polymath & Crust
An offbeat, edgy and literary selection can be found in the same building that stocks non-fiction tomes under the Polymath & Crust shop-name.
www.booksactually.com
Cat Socrates
A lifestyle shop selling paper products, tin toys, indie CDs and, of course, books. Young authors and auteurs such as Ryu Murakami take centerstage in its carefully curated selection.
www.catsocrates.com.sg
La Libreria
The place to go if you want to pick up something truly unique. The shop stocks book art in limited runs and the occasional indie CD. The tiny store evokes the sense of stepping into a private study, but owner Eriko Hirashima is chatty and friendly.
www.lalibreria.com.sg
