Sat, Nov 13, 1999 page18

• Eslite opens discount book store

  RETAILING The new discount store will help the 24-branch chain pare down excess inventory

  • By Tu Po-heng / STAFF REPORTER
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  For book and music lovers, there is a another place where one can find inexpensive new works -- The eslite discount bookstore and The eslite music store.

  The eslite corporation, one of Taiwan's leading book store chains, opens its first discount book store in Taipei today, offering up to 30 percent off foreign-language titles. In addition, its music store specializing in alternative music is also debuting.

  "The bookstore is the first of its kind in Taiwan. Through this store, we hope to offer customers a more affordable, rich variety of books, " Robert Wu (吳2M??/CHINESE>), president of The eslite corporation (誠品股份|3--?膝q), said at a press conference yesterday.

  

  The eslite corporation unveils today its first discount book and music store near Taiwan National University.

  PHOTO: THE ESLITE CORPORATION

  From a marketing perspective, now is the time for a discount book store in Taiwan, much like the Barnes & Nobles chain in the US, Wu said.

  In addition, the discount store is an answer to the book retailing industry's age-old problem -- what to do with excess inventory?

  The eslite corporation has 24 bookstores islandwide that sell a large quantity of foreign-language books. But some titles may not sell as well as expected and, after a period of time, inventory begins to stack up. Furthermore, these foreign-language books often cannot be returned to their publishers for refunds.

  The company, therefore, came up with the idea of discount stores as a way to sell these "good but not popular" books.

  To distributors, it's a wise solution that answers the inventory problem. And for book buyers, it's good news, as they may purchase books at lower prices.

  "How to overcome problems of limited display space and capital are two main challenges facing bookstore owners," said Liao Mei-li (1軉??/CHINESE>), general manager of The eslite corporation.

  "Because of the discount bookstore model, we can shorten the period of time new books are displayed on the shelves of regular bookstores, thereby optimizing displaying spaces and reducing inventory costs," Liao said. "At the same time, book buyers can benefit from quicker discounts on books."

  Liao also said if the company's first discount store succeeds, the group will open similar stores in Taichung and Kaohsiung. In addition, the company may start selling Chinese-language books in its discount stores.

  Though optimistic about the discount store's prospects, the company was reluctant to divulge any sales projections. The company simply dodged the question and said they weren't opening the store out of consideration for the firm's bottom line.

  Opening a discount bookstore is just one achievement of The eslite corporation's aggressive plans, the company said, and they have plans to open five more before Chinese New Year.

  In addition to launching its first discount book store, The eslite corporation is also diversifying into music retailing.

  Both its new music and discount bookstores sit in the same building near Taiwan National University.

  The music store's focus on alternative sounds sets it apart from many large music chain stores.

  "We want to introduce music that the five record giants don't favor, because we want to offer richer music variety to music addicts in Taiwan," Liao said.

  For example, the store offers ambient, theater music, electronic /dance and contemporary sounds. As for Chinese and Taiwanese pop albums, the genre accounts for just 10 percent of the store's total shelf space.

  "Our store will maintain at 3-to-2 ratio of alternative albums to pop non-alternative albums. This marketing strategy is the scheme we used to develop our book store," Liao said. "We plan to start up our business by specializing in alternative music before moving into pop music."

  Liao also said that many foreign music publishers hold a rather defensive attitude toward local distributors, as Taiwan is notorious for its piracy and malicious price competition.

  Because of this, many international music chain stores, such as Tower Records, have slowed down the pace of their expansion in the Taiwan market.

  As a result, it is difficult for The eslite corporation to build a relationship with foreign publishers, Liao said.

  But she believes that once The eslite music store builds up its reputation among music addicts, foreign distributors will give the company their trust.

  In keeping with its reputation as a vanguard in the publishing industry, The eslite corporation also said it was mulling the possibility of an Internet bookstore, though it has no immediate plans to sell on-line soon.
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