Battling the Web – Indie bookstores struggle for spot in ‘net age’

By He Jianwei

As in the music and film industries, “indie” is synonymous with struggle. But it may be too soon to pen the obituary of the indie bookstore.

In January, one holdout told his story of running an indie bookstore and emphasized the vital role it played in holding together the city’s intellectual scene.

Cruel reality

Brick-and-mortar bookstores are on the brink of extinction in the Internet age.

According to statistics from the British Booksellers Association, an indie bookstore closed every week during the 10 months from June 2006 to April 2007.

In 2007, the French Booksellers Association announced the country’s indie bookstores were on the verge of extinction: some were purchased by superstores and others faced closure.

China is hardly exempt from the trend.

Last year, two Shanghai’s bookstores closed after 10 years of operation – many others were pressed out by the price of rent.

According to statistics by the China Marketing Research Association released this January, the indie bookstore count is in free fall.

One of the survivors, Longzhimei Advertising and Culture Bookstore, which has been around for 15 years, has seen decreased turnover the past five years.

But Xu Zhiming, co-owner of the bookstore, thinks he found a way out of the deficit: his experiences are collected in I Love Running a Bookstore published by China Citic Press.