THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced several business houses to change their sales model. Shaikh Khalil Ahmed, proprietor of Broadway Books Store has had to do the same. VIKANT SAHAY met him to find out how changes course to sell books using technology.
HERALD: Has your business been affected with this pandemic?
SHAIKH KHALIL AHMED: Due to the pandemic, our bookstore has been affected very badly. Our sales are down by 50 per cent. People are afraid and they are not bringing their children to the store. However, gradually it is showing signs of improvement but footfalls are still low. Even the tourists who normally come to my shop to buy books on Goa are not there and restoration of the business to pre-COVID-19 times will take some time.
HERALD: What measures are you taking to boost sales?
SKA: Earlier, I was not on any e-commerce platform. However, I did some research and found that Amazon was doing well as far as sale of books is concerned. Hence, I too have listed books on some platforms and I am selling through them, online. In fact, Amazon is doing very well and I sell books on Goa on that platform and did quite well earlier but I am still selling in a good number in Amazon so for me personally it is working well with this new arrangement. With business down by 50 per cent I had to go online.
HERALD: What are you doing to attract buyers to your store?
SKA: We have announced festive offers and are having sale offers every now and then. During these promotional events, the sales do pick up. In fact people are interested in books and Goans, especially children, do love to read books, comics and interesting exercise books. In fact, you need to be innovative and moving with the times to ensure that the sales do not drop.
HERALD: How do you see the future in the business of selling books?
SKA: I am confident that ‘normalcy’ will surely return. People are not confident now but with the vaccination coming in, the entire scenario will change drastically. In fact the footfalls in our shop are increasing. Certainly we too have to promote through exhibitions and festive sales offers to draw customers. Also, government, educational institutions, libraries, schools are not buying books as of now. Once they start doing it, our business will definitely improve. Half of the business I used to get was from schools and educational institutions. All of them are closed now and they are operational online. Once they reopen, the normalcy will return in our business. This trend is across the board, world over.
HERALD: You had an outlet at a mall in Panjim. What is the reason for its closure?
SKA: Recently, we had to close it down because the rental per month at Caculo Mall was way too high and the sales were not picking up there. However, we have opened a new outlet in residential area in Carenzalem in the name of ‘Take Note’ and my son is handling that shop. Since this new shop is operational till 9 am to 9.30 pm in the evening, it is doing very well. Since people are avoiding visiting crowded places they are timing their entry and exit from the shop. In fact, opening the shop till late in the evening has helped boost up the sales in our Caranzalem outlet.
HERALD: How has availability of e-books affected your business?
SKA: Books cannot be replaced by electronics. Initially people were excited to get hooked on to the new technology and it became a fashion of sorts. But now people are coming as they want the feel of book while reading it the way it used to be. In fact turning of pages are also important while one is reading the actual paper book.
HERALD: How is the book reading habit in Goa?
SKA: I can say for sure that Goa is much better than Mumbai as far as book reading is concerned. People in Goa buy more books. I have personally felt it as I worked in Mumbai with a leading publishing house for eighteen years. I think literacy rate in Goa would be higher than in Mumbai and there is a reading habit here. Goans like to read novels, classical and children books like comics etc. Also, recent trends show that philosophical and religious books are selling a lot.
HERALD: The inventory in your store must have piled up due to lockdown. Does it worry you?
SKA: No I am not worried at all. People will buy books and especially when the education institutions, libraries, schools open up the sale will surely pick up. Since I am also using Amazon, even if there is less profit, we can sell the books there. Amazon takes 7 per cent and I am in addition, offering 20 per cent discount online. Apart from that they are also charging us the warehouse rentals, which is proportional to the space which my books occupy.
