How to manage and sell bookstores?

The above is what the bookstore should pay attention to, and the negative examples may give you a deeper understanding!

Whether you run a super-large bookstore with more than 10,000 square meters or a super-small bookstore with only a few square meters, there are certain misunderstandings from purchasing, storage and transportation to operation. Although some misunderstandings may not necessarily affect the survival of bookstores, understanding these misunderstandings is beneficial to the good performance of bookstores.

Big bookstores must make a lot of money.

The profit of the bookstore is not necessarily related to the size of the bookstore. Of course, it is an indisputable fact that a small bookstore wants to earn a lot of profits. The operation of a large bookstore is a complex business system engineering, which requires first-class conditions such as human resources, operating costs and management methods different from those of small and medium-sized bookstores. At present, there is not a complete successful model for operating large bookstores in China, but there have been several failed cases. Judging from the strict financial system, few large bookstores in China are truly profitable. More large bookstores either lose money in their growth stage, or close down, or seek other ways to survive and make profits. There are many basic conditions for opening a large bookstore, and large-scale bookstore operation is also a popular trend in China. Big bookstores may make more profits, but they may not be profitable, and may even be a fire pit.

When the passenger flow increases, the running water will increase greatly.

From a commercial point of view, passenger flow is a prerequisite for bookstores to ensure business, but the greater the passenger flow, will the turnover increase? For bookstores with different operating scales, each bookstore has an optimal operating passenger flow. If it exceeds or falls below the optimal peak of passenger flow, the turnover of the bookstore will decrease. No bookstore sells unique books. Readers buy books in various ways. Although the bookstore environment is not the most critical factor affecting readers' book selection, readers will choose bookstores that make them comfortable whenever possible. There is no doubt that the huge passenger flow in bookstores will definitely bring various problems to the book buying environment and will definitely lose some readers.

Medium-sized bookstores meet the needs of the book market

In the field of book retailing, medium-sized bookstores have always been a strange phenomenon. Some people are optimistic about the prospects of medium-sized bookstores, while others think that medium-sized bookstores are short-lived ghosts. We haven't found the theoretical basis for the prospect of medium-sized bookstores, but judging from the operation of medium-sized bookstores in Beijing, the actual situation seems to be not very ideal. For example, the bookstore in Xidan Pearl Shopping Mall and Haidian Viewpoint Bookstore. They have closed down one after another, and the Thinkmusic Bookstore and Hanfenlou Bookstore in Wangfujing area have fewer passengers. Recently, I went to the well-known Sanlian Bookstore next to the Art Museum and Xinhua Bookstore in the downtown area, and I intuitively felt that the business situation was not as good as before. Medium-sized bookstores have their advantages, but they seem to have more limitations. Just from the variety of books, there are many technical problems. Is the business area of all kinds of bookstores insufficient? How many kinds of single products can be operated as fully as possible without meeting the needs of many readers? How big is the scope of defining basic readers? All this and so on.

Chain bookstores will not close down.

The purpose of chain bookstores is to enhance the brand effect, expand sales outlets and obtain greater profits, but at present, some domestic chain bookstores do not seem to have such a purpose. It may be that the chain bookstores themselves have misunderstood the chain meaning of bookstores, or they may have other complicated ideas. However, the operating conditions of chain bookstores that we actually see in the field of book retailing have not changed much because of the chain operation of bookstores, and some bookstores seem to be worse than before the chain operation. We have contacted the managers of some chain bookstores and actually visited many chain bookstores all over the country. We feel that in today's extremely strong demand for books, chain bookstores will encounter many insurmountable problems just by purchasing books.

Selling on credit is the best way to operate.

In the domestic book industry, in terms of marketization, book retailing should be ranked first. It may be the weakness of the book sales market, or it may be the surplus of products in the publishing field. At present, the relationship between the supply and demand of products between bookstores and publishing houses is mostly credit sales contracts. Selling on credit can bring booksellers the least operational risk, and at the same time, the purchasing level of booksellers is gradually decreasing. For large-scale bookstores operating in all varieties, the purchasing level will not directly affect the sales of bookstores in the short term, but for small and medium-sized bookstores, low-level book purchasing may directly affect the operating income of bookstores. Selling on credit is a kind of insurance for bookstores, but it is by no means the best way. Especially for those bookstores with sales channels and sales capabilities, some business methods such as low-cost underwriting can earn more profits, but at the same time they must bear corresponding risks.

An elegant bookstore environment will attract more readers.

On the whole, the retail environment of domestic business is the worst in the field of book retail. Recently, however, some bookstores have been renovated to a certain extent in whole or in part, and the bookstore environment is beautiful, but the operating conditions of these bookstores have not changed much. What caused this result? I visited several well-decorated bookstores or bookstores in Beijing, which left us a bad impression. Of course, we looked at the storefront environment of these bookstores from a commercial point of view. The outstanding problem is that the decoration is too superficial, without considering the book display and most readers. A good bookstore environment can indeed increase operating income, but the decoration is always for the convenience of books and readers. If it deviates from the purpose of decoration, it will not only fail to achieve the expected effect, but will directly increase the cost of bookstore operation.

The business philosophy is not suitable for the current situation of domestic bookstores.

In the daily communication with many booksellers, when it comes to the weakest link in the domestic book retail field, we always think that management is the most dissatisfied place for bookstores. No matter whether it is a super-large bookstore or a small or medium-sized bookstore, there are often some problems that should not appear in the actual operation process, especially today when the scientific management and marketization of bookstores are getting higher and higher. If we neglect the important position of management and operation in the process of bookstore operation, the result is often that the bookstore is in trouble and even leads to its demise. In recent years, some large and medium-sized bookstores in Beijing have closed down one after another, and the lack of management means is a very important reason. No matter how the domestic book industry operates at present, as long as the bookstore operation is a market behavior, management and operation will always be the first priority for bookstore operators to consider.

Large investment can bring high profits.

Book industry is different from other industries. Some insiders and some outsiders believe that a large amount of capital investment can bring high returns. We can't say that this idea is wrong, but it is not necessarily correct. Beijing Zhishu Square and Beijing Bai Rong Bookstore, which closed down in recent two years, are the best examples. Of course, in the field of book publishing, we should build a book city and set up a distribution company. There has been a lot of capital investment, but the sad thing happened.

There is no need for a small bookstore to have a strict financial system.

We have seen many small bookstores, and there is basically no financial system in actual operation. No matter whether the employees in bookstores are family members or employees, many bookstores have experienced various financial omissions in the course of operation. They are originally small bookstores that make money, resulting in limited profit losses. Although small bookstores don't need a complete financial system, they still need to be careful in getting in and out of business loans, otherwise the final result will be a loss when they are busy.

The charm of cooperative management is endless.

It may be to seek greater development, to avoid business risks, or to tide over the difficulties of the depressed book industry. Cooperative management has become a hot topic for many booksellers, including the cooperation between private bookstores and state-owned bookstores, the cooperation between private booksellers and the cooperation between domestic and foreign booksellers. Is the cooperation in the book industry necessarily attractive? That was not the case. For various reasons, in recent years, we have seen some successful cooperation modes, and at the same time, we have seen many sad realities of cooperation failure. Cooperation is nothing more than a way for booksellers to operate, but it is by no means a magic weapon for success.

I hope it helps you!