SINGAPORE, April 8 — It is a Wednesday afternoon and there are about a dozen people milling around a bookshop-café housed on the bottom floor of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Centre along Maxwell Road.

The Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop is the first bookstore in Singapore to offer only local literature. It is also the latest independent bookstore to hit the scene, following others such as The Moon, another bookshop-café specialising in female authors, in Chinatown.

The owners of these independent bookshops represent the growing number of entrepreneurs who have decided to dive head first into the bookstore industry, even as their bigger counterparts struggle to stay afloat.

Japanese bookstore chain Kinokuniya, for instance, announced last month that it would be shutting its Liang Court outlet on April 21 after 36 years of operation. Other big players such as Page One closed its only store in Vivocity in 2007 while Borders called it a day in 2011 after 14 years in Singapore.

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“Singapore books are still a minority in bigger bookshops. If you go to Kinokuniya, you will see the prime positions are all taken by international best-sellers.”

He jumped at the opportunity to realise his vision the moment he found the space at URA Centre and a willing partner in Huggs Coffee.

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Similarly, The Moon’s owner Sarah Naeem was frustrated by the lack of books written by women during her visit to bookstores in her hometown in Pakistan. So when Ms Naeem, who has been based in Singapore for the last 10 years, quit her job here in 2017, she decided to set up a store which would feature female and minority authors.

Despite some initial trepidation, she did some research and found that there was still interest in physical books globally and in Singapore, giving her the confidence to go ahead with her plans.

“What we did find with our research was that yes, global book buying trends and physical book buying trends are on the rise. There’s a growing need for people to learn how to disconnect from their mobile devices and reading on Kindle was actually on the decline,” said the 28-year-old.

Rise of the independents

Naeem said that her store has received a good response since it opened last September, reaping in sales of about S$2,000 to S$3,000 (RM6,035 to RM9,053) per week.

Despite some initial trepidation, The Moon’s owner Sarah Naeem did some research and found that there was still interest in physical books globally and in Singapore. — TODAY pic
Despite some initial trepidation, The Moon’s owner Sarah Naeem did some research and found that there was still interest in physical books globally and in Singapore. — TODAY pic

Other independent stores have also achieved some measure of success. The founders of Woods in the Books, a store dedicated to picture books for young children, were able to set up another outlet, Books Ahoy!, in 2015.

Another independent store, BooksActually, has lasted for more than a decade. Globally there has also been an emergence of independent bookstores.

Figures by the United Kingdom’s Booksellers Association showed that the number of independent bookstores has grown to 883 since its low of 867 in 2016. In the United States, the number of independent bookstores grew by 35 per cent between 2009 and 2015, according to the American Booksellers Association (ABA).

Physical book sales have also been healthy. ABA’s figures showed that from 2013 to 2017, sales of physical books rose by 10.8 per cent, while e-books sales dropped by 10 per cent from 2016 to 2017.

Doing things differently

Owners of local independent bookstores are aware that they have to set themselves apart from bigger chains, which can offer greater variety in their selections, and online stores, which boast lower prices.

To do so, they rely on the “human element” and offer “special experiences” to keep customers coming back.

“We aim to provide good service and excellent knowledge of children’s books and picture books, which is something that you can’t get from an online platform,” said Woods in the Books owner Shannon Ong, who is in her 40s.

Set up in 2009, the store has been hosting themed parties, such as a Harry Potter party in 2017, to give customers a different experience whenever they visit the bookstore.

For The Moon, having a café and an events space allows it to create a sense of community among its patrons which is missing in bigger bookstores.

“This space is built on the idea that this is an experience and not somewhere you just come in, buy something and leave. Hopefully, you’ll discover something new, you’ll buy some coffee and we’ll have a chat. It’s built on an entire premise that there’s something in this space that draws people back and it doesn’t have to be the same thing for everyone,” said Ms Naeem.

Uncertain future

Despite BooksActually’s longevity, Kenny Leck, 41, is cautious about its future prospects, saying that there is “no magic bullet” to guaranteeing its survival.

He believes that for bookstores to stay the course, owners have to find ways to make their books appeal across all segments of society.

On the future of his own store, Leck said it boils down to the decisions he makes: “As long as I don’t screw up, it will be around.”

For Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop owner Wee, concerns remain that the traffic at his store will slow after the media hype dies down. Pointing to the patrons at the shop, he said: “As you can see, most people are here just for the coffee. No one’s really looking at the books.”

While he is still not sure if there is a market for local books, Wee insists that this bookstore’s presence is necessary to keep local literature alive.

“You can call it the last throw of the dice. If it doesn’t work out, then we close down and say bye-bye to Singapore books.” — TODAY