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Private booksellers in Shanghai are competing with a giant, well-established, state-owned former monopoly.
Some think they can beat it.
They are trying a variety of strategies - offering specialized stock or loyalty-building services, stressing discounts on best sellers or a pleasant browsing experience.
Shanghai Xinhua Bookstore, which was founded in 1949 and had the field to itself until 1978, admits the competition has been "stimulating."
One stimulant is Jifeng Bookstore, a chain founded in 1998.
Jifeng has built an image as an easy-to-find bookseller strong on the arts and social sciences. Most of its six branches are in stations of the Metro 1 line.
A year younger, the Mingjun Bookstore has taken up residence on the Metro 2 line.
It offers discounts of up to 20 percent on some popular titles to attract customers and create a healthy cash flow.
Much of this money is quickly turned over to wholesalers, because Mingjun wants to establish its credit so it will be treated on the same basis as Xinhua.
Mingjun has also set up a reader's club. Members get even larger discounts and can exchange books with one another for free.
Shanghai Century Scholar Books Co. Ltd. had similar ideas. Since March, it has operated a sprawling store in Metro City, in the Xujiahui shopping area.
The more than 70,000 members of the Scholar Bookstore readers' club attend concerts and group discussions. And earlier this month, there was an 18-day "book exchange festival."
These are not the only arrows to Scholar's bow.
The company said its relationship with a book publisher will eventually let it give readers exactly what they want.
Privately owned Shanghai Scholar Cultural Enterprises Ltd. joined with Century Publishing Group to start the business on a 20 million-yuan (US$2.4 million) investment.
More immediately, Scholar calls its 6,500-square-meter store perfect for white-collar browsers because wall-to-wall carpeting lets them sit anywhere without smudging fashionable duds.
"Also, background music makes the process of shopping for books an absolute pleasure," enthused Marketing Director Ding Zhongyuan.
Reported daily turnover of 100,000 yuan makes things pleasant for the owner too.
For all the ferment, Xinhua still controls 70 percent of Shanghai's book market, it says. In a city with 2,500 private book outlets, including newsstands, it has 300 stores of various sizes.
"It's stimulating for us," company official Wang Yaohua said, referring to private booksellers.
"Their participation is good for the development of domestic book retail market, and we will also seek changes to be more competitive," he said.
A book-industry source said Xinhua would open a comprehensive 4,000-square-meter where the Music Bookstore used to stand in Xujiahui.
（Shanghai Daily August 20, 2002）
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