Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
ONE of Bahrain’s best loved book shops will soon be celebrating its 21st anniversary and, despite the challenges of the digital age, has plans to expand its literary presence in the kingdom as a new chapter of the family business unfolds.
To mark the occasion The Bookcase will also be teaming up with Bahrain’s number one community newspaper to launch the free-to-join Gulf Weekly Book Club offering readers sensational discounts on international best-sellers and works of local interest.
“Many people are as passionate about books as me and most of them come to the shop because of that love. Books are one of the physical pleasures of life – like the feel of fine silk against the skin or the smell of a newly-opened pack of coffee,” said The Bookcase owner and general manager Linda Jennings who runs the retail and book fair side while her son, Robert, manages the contract and educational resources aspect of the business.
“Often people sit in front of a computer screen all day, I know I do, so it’s the last thing I want to do when I get home in the evening. No, a nice drink, a good book and a beautiful saluki on the couch next to me (pick your own companion) – can’t be beaten!
“As the economy is improving, we are investigating opening a new branch to complement our Budaiya and Seef Mall stores.
“We will be 21 this year and look forward to planning something special in the autumn, hopefully with GulfWeekly!”
The duo is also working on a new bi-lingual website and refitting the first floor of its popular Budaiya Highway outlet to incorporate a KG/Primary section which will display teaching materials, educational resources and art supplies needed at that level.
The Bookcase was opened in June 1993 as a single retail unit selling children’s books by entrepreneurial Linda, who trained at London’s celebrated Harrods store and studied retail at both the College for the Distributive Trades in Leicester Square and Watford Management College.
From its first day it proved a huge draw and was often full with parents spending time in the colourful shop looking at books with their children. She recalls: “When I arrived in Bahrain 25 years ago the only bookshop offering children’s books in English was the Family Bookshop which had a very limited supply. So I used to fill my suitcases with books to read to my two small sons and eventually decided that if I was doing that, so must a lot of other mummies, so I decided to open a small shop specialising in children’s books.
“After I had been trading for a short while, the British Council decided to open a children’s library and asked if I would be prepared to help select and supply the books. That contract went very well so they asked if I could supply books to their students and our ELT section was born.
“A similar thing happened with the schools as I was running small school book fairs in their libraries. We now run huge book fairs in school playgrounds!”
The supplying of school text books and library materials later branched into a full educational supply service as The Bookcase was asked by Findel Education to become its exclusive distributor and the business now represents in Bahrain the major UK and US publishing houses and educational supply companies.
Physically, The Bookcase’s main change was moving to a larger store – but still on Budaiya Highway – several years ago, and expanding its range to include all genres of books as well as an exclusive gift range. It was also one of the first shops to open in Seef Mall, where it has a gift shop on the first floor.
“The one thing that has not changed over the years is our commitment to excellent customer service and code of decency,” said Linda.
The world of technology, however, has changed dramatically in that time and doom-mongers for decades have been predicting the demise of book stores … as well as newspapers for that matter.
Robert, 28, has grown up in the fast-moving digital world. The former Awali, Nadeen and St Christopher’s School pupil went on to study at King’s School Canterbury and gained degrees in Neuro-Science and International Business.
A renowned fencer and founding member of the Hot Laser rock band, he knows the book business inside out and during the day is just as comfortable in his suited business attire.
He said: “Statistically the e-book market is growing at a constant rate, and I will not be surprised if it overtakes paper books in certain sectors such as teen and adult fiction and textbooks in the next two decades. However, I believe there will always be a demand for books in print.”
Linda agrees: “I have attended many seminars on this subject, in particular at the recent London Book Fair. Certainly there is no need to glean information solely from books nowadays, so we have had to adapt.
“We used to have a very large non-fiction section to help students with their homework which we no longer have. However, I still believe that people enjoy browsing and many would much rather see a physical book, hold it in their hands and pay at a cash register than buy online. We also offer a fast and reliable ‘special order’ service at no extra cost should a customer wish to obtain a book we do not have in stock.”
To help keep in tune with the ever-developing business the pair regularly attend and exhibit at many regional and international conferences throughout the year.
So far this year Linda has attended shows in Dubai, Birmingham, London and Abu Dhabi and Robert has also exhibited at the IEFE in Riyadh. These are a mixture of educational, gift and book events. Linda added: “We recently had the pleasure of exhibiting at the Bahrain International Book Fair and as a result of that, many UK publishers are keen to work with us at next year’s fair.
As a result of the positive feedback they are confident there is room for books and a book store in the 21st Century.
Robert said: “I believe the answer is ‘yes’ as books have always been part of the human experience for over 2,000 years and will continue to do so. Even if virtual reality takes over, customers will always enjoy browsing a physical bookstore … especially if it has a resident parrot!”
He was referring to their pet XXXXXX, a charismatic African grey who sits perched in the offices on the first floor during opening hours and is known to chat away with members of the staff and regular customers.
The Bookshop has teamed up with GulfWeekly to launch a regular Book of the Week column with Robert reviewing the non-fiction and business and Linda checking out the latest fictional titles, starting on Page XX.
Readers can join the Gulf Weekly Book Club by emailing editor@gulfweekly.com with their names and contact details.
It will entitle them to free membership to The Bookcase Reward Scheme, normally costing BD1, which gives 10 per cent off every day and 20 per cent discount on Mondays if the customer has ‘liked’ the store’s Facebook page.
Yes, and on top of that, we will be offering Gulf Weekly Book Club members ONLY a special 25 per cent discount from the shop price of the Book of the Week and this offer will last throughout the entire month during which the book was reviewed.
Linda revealed: “I discussed this exciting new venture with the export directors at the London Book Fair and will be selecting a wide range of books – some which they will have recommended and others which are solely a personal choice but it is going to be varied and something for everyone over the weeks and months!
“Some of the export managers are very excited and even want to write ‘guest reviews’. We fly around 500kg of books from the UK each week so won’t be short of choice!
“It is an absolute pleasure to be able to work with books and help advance education in this part of the world. I constantly meet wonderful people. For those who remember the late Mary Potts of Awali School; she once told me, when I was thinking of opening the store all those years ago, that it was a good idea as I would meet nice people because lovely people love books. Over the years, Mary has been proved right.”
Plans are also afoot to set up a series of exclusive Literary Brunches in Bahrain featuring star authors for members and guests of the Gulf Weekly Book Club in association with The Bookcase. Watch this space!
