10 am in M R Book Centre, Begumpet, two men busy dusting the collection, discuss books, trends and what the future could hold for them in times of dwindling customers for book stores.
Catering to the requirements of bookworms for 35 years has helped them understand what it takes to maintain a reader-friendly store. While their outlet continues to be a treasure trove for readers across multiple languages, it’s most popular for selling books by weight. Anything from a Chetan Bhagat to a Sri Sri to a Victor Hugo, it takes only ₹120 to bag books that weigh a kilo.
Being in the business for long, the move to sell books by weight is their way to carry on their business without an ulterior profit motive. They believed nothing could replace a physical book regardless of the evolution of the e-book and audio book formats. Raziuddin at the risk of sounding old-school mentions, “The e-book is fine for brief reads but isn’t comforting for a longer span. At a time when reading habits are on the wane, we wanted to inculcate a change in a customer’s mindset. We wanted them to re-embrace the feeling of turning a page.”
The exclusive section that sells books by weight is located on one level below the store. Amid a series of books arrayed across corners, it isn’t easy to find the book of your choice. Yet, the space reminds one the joy of finding a book in their own sweet time unfettered by repetitive online curated lists and recommendations.
Battling online sales hasn’t been easy for the store over the years. Though fiction continues to be a major draw among their customers spanning various age-groups, their USP is the collection of the vintage magazines that deal with art, fashion and design. “While we buy books from auctions, e-tailers establish a direct contact with publishers for their bulk orders. We score on posterity more,” the owner adds.
- Where: Begumpet
- What: Bookstore
- USP: Books @ ₹120 a kilo
Open all week, books on subjects spanning history, cookery, biographies, coffee-table genres, as well as students’ favourite Amar Chitra Katha tales and books for competitive exams at bulk.
Book exhibitions and literary festivals have helped spread the word about this initiative. Beyond the ‘books by weight’ idea, their collection of new books and discounts are no-less appealing. The store is set to have its website soon, which they hope will boost their sales.
(M R Book Centre’s ‘books by weight’ sale is now also on at D-Mart, Madhapur till November 30)
