Not by the Book

While the store concentrates largely on the provision of books in English, it also has a very large section, 324 square metres, of the store devoted to Chinese and Japanese books.

It also carries multilingual books and magazines, sourced through their global network of stores in Japan, the US, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan.

With such a dizzying array of titles available in such a welcoming environment, does the introduction of such bookstores in the retail landscape spell the end for the small, old-fashioned bookseller? Not necessarily, according to Lisa.

"I think there is room for everyone in the market. I think that some people still prefer the small stores, as they build a relationship with the people who run it, and some of the smaller stores specialise in certain types of books. Such stores don't affect us, as we stock a great range of books, including hard to find titles, but some customers simply enjoy that type of environment and that's fine."

Another important element in the modern book business is online book sales, a market dominated by Amazon.com.

While Kinokuniya customers in Japan and Singapore can order their books online, their Australian counterparts do not yet have that avenue.

"That might be something we look at in the future," said Lisa, "but right now we are focusing on making our store the best in the country."

Just like smaller and larger bookshops, Lisa feels that online bookshops and bricks and mortar shops can operate successfully in tandem.

"I think there is definitely a market out there for both. Our store is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive, but we do offer value.

"When we first came to Australia, those sites were out there, but it hasn't done us any harm. I think there is enough of a market for everybody."

Lisa added that online and traditional bookshops may appeal to fairly disparate types of customers.

"Some people like to browse through a bookstore rather than get on a computer to order a book. For those people, much of their enjoyment is derived from having a good look around and maybe finding something they didn't know about before, whereas when you go online, you have to know what you want to buy, so it is a different market."

Choosing a location can be of great importance to the prosperity of a business, a subject which Hands On Retail has explored previously.

Kinokuniya is situated in the heart of the city, but it's on level two of the Galeries Victoria shopping centre, with only a discrete sign on George Street to direct customers to the store. Lisa insists that the store's geographically elevated position has not been troublesome.

"The location has not proved to be the obstacle that we thought it might be, even though we're not in the most prominent position, like Pitt Street Mall for instance, and we're up on the second level.

"In Japan and Singapore, the shopping centres are often about 10 storeys high and people don't have any problem going up through the floors, whereas in Australia they seem to like to shop on one level. That was a challenge to us, but one in which we are succeeding in. We are a destination rather than an impulse stop."

Kinokuniya has achieved this through targeted marketing. Its ongoing involvement with community groups and events in the coming months will also help further establish the store.

Lisa outlined what the store would be doing in the months ahead to simultaneously promote the store and support the arts.

"We are very interested in the arts and culture, so you will find over the coming months a lot of very diverse cultural activities taking place, involving the store, that will bring a lot of cultures together.

"We plan to get involved in the Chinese New Year celebrations, and we are also working with Japanese community groups, but it is not just the Chinese and Japanese communities we will be involved with, but all cultures. Our store is multicultural - that is what Kinokuniya is all about."