Oxford Bookstores takes steps to retain customers

Kolkata, Dec 22: Oxford Bookstores Private Limited, run by the Apeejay Group, is in the process of increasing its footprints across the nation apart from introducing new services to make the book-buying an easy process for customers.

Oxford has already tied up with Mobile 365 to provide text updates on latest launches and bestsellers to its customers.

When more and more readers are logging on to the internet to read e-books, competition among book sellers is heating up, simultaneously and players in the organised sector are pulling out all the stops to retain customers and get new ones on board.

This has been done to bridge the gap between its online and offline sales, specially targeted at those who do not access the store through the internet, but would like to get information on availability of books and updates, Apeejay Oxford Bookstore CEO Rajiv Chowdhry said.

In the first month itself, the bookstore has received 3,500 hits via this channel.

Taking the service a step further, Oxford is now contemplating a home delivery system and is in talks with courier service providers to firm up the arrangement.

The service will be test-launched in Kolkata shortly, before it is rolled out in the other metros where Oxford is present. In a final bid to take the Oxford experience to as many customers as possible, the group has planned to have up to 20 Oxford Bookstores in the country and five Oxford Express stores.

While the stores would have floor space of 1,500 squarefeet to 2,000 sqft, those which would also have the Oxford Cha Bar, would be upto 3,000 sqft in area.

The Express stores would be smaller with floor space of 400 sqft.

The average project cost per squarefoot for this expansion would be Rs 1,500, Mr Chowdhry said.

This would, however, not include inventory, which would vary from store to store depending on display area and shelf space.

Oxford was planning to open upto two new stores in Kolkata and others in Bangalore, Shillong, Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Asansol and Durgapur.

It was also currently testing the success of its children's store format, Junior, in Kolkata before taking it elsewhere.

UNI