Bookstore (The Terminal Record of China's Book Industry in Transition)

Author: Xu Chong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: Running a bookstore, no matter what kind of bookstore it is, the support of philosophy is essential. A bookstore without philosophical support, even if it is luxurious and extravagant, will not find its soul. A bookstore without a soul, whether there are more or fewer of them, is actually meaningless. I have always been opposed to bookstores offering discounts, and I am firmly opposed to bookstores taking the initiative to offer discounts. Perhaps bookstores think this is a good way to save themselves, thinking that once they offer discounts, they will gain market share and be able to compete with others. From the situation over the years, it seems that no bookstore has successfully created a brand and stayed in business by using this method. We cannot discuss whether book prices are expensive or not without considering the changes in income over the past 20 years and the changes in the prices of other goods. 20 years ago, most college graduates entering the workforce, how much did they earn per year? Back then, we didn't have money to buy cars or houses, so we didn't feel that book prices were high. Now, it seems that besides housing prices and drug prices, books are the most expensive. Have we calculated our annual income, expenses, and the proportion of spending on books, and then calculated the changes in this proportion over the past 20 years? The elimination of bookstores through market competition has long been the norm, but for publishers, it has not shown the expected severity. We have not seen a single publisher lose its market due to operational problems and disappear from the market. This should not be seen as a miracle in the domestic publishing industry; it merely confirms that the book market is far from being truly marketized.