Book store. Bookstore: properties and classification

The capacity of the book retail market in Russia, according to analysts, today reaches 2 billion dollars. According to a study conducted by Discovery Research Group (DRG), for the last three years (as of May 18, 2011), this figure has been steadily increasing. At the same time, the total print run has been declining since 2008. If in 2007, according to the calculations of the Russian Book Chamber, it amounted to 702.3 million copies, then in 2010 - only 633 million. At the same time, the average circulation for the specified period decreased by almost 30%. Market growth is ensured not so much by an increase in sales as by a constant rise in the price of books. At the same time, experts agree that the Russian book market is far from being saturated, and the only problem is that not all stores are able to sell their goods. marketing sales competition assortment

Today, despite the development of the Internet and trade through catalogs, in Russia, according to all book market experts without exception, the bookstore remains the main tool for bringing books to the buyer. But data trading floors catastrophically lacking. So, according to the calculations of "TOP-knigi" now in Russia there are 60 thousand inhabitants per 1 bookstore, while in Europe (the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary) - 10 thousand inhabitants. Moreover, the distribution of "shops-residents" in our country is carried out far unevenly.

At present, there are no more than 4,500 enterprises in Russia that call themselves bookstores. In reality, there are 3,000 bookstores of various formats, that is, stores with an area of ​​at least 50 square meters. m., where the book trade is the main one. About 2,000 of these are independent non-chain stores, 500 are publisher chains, and 500 are independent chains. Number of trays per open markets and street stalls in Russia is 10-20 thousand outlets, and book departments in non-core stores in Moscow - 450-500 outlets.

"Today, approximately 60-80 thousand titles of literature are presented on the market at a time - these are titles that are in demand in 2009, and some of the titles of previous years. According to experts, the total assortment that passes through the leading bookstores during the year is already reaches 100-150 thousand items, and the one-time assortment that could be presented is about 75-80 thousand items.

The main share of the turnover of bookselling companies is still accounted for by stationary book trade - about 70%, which is explained by the slow development of other sales channels (online stores, postal trade, catalog trade, etc.).

Compared to the world market, in most developed countries, the development of book retail is carried out mainly by independent companies and large wholesalers. The retail channel is fully structured, there are uniform trading standards, and fixed prices for books have been introduced in many countries. In the West, the retail and publishing businesses are diversified. Publishing houses do not form their own retail networks, but only build a system of relationships with retailers and wholesalers.

In Russia, retail trade is built according to a completely different scheme: publishing houses are actively creating their own retail chains, where they mainly supply their assortment. At the same time, the assortment of competitors is placed with a higher trade margin than the rest of the books. There are also examples of strategic partnerships where publishers do not dictate retail chains, what assortment to sell, but there are fewer such cases. Such a policy of publishing houses has a negative impact on trade turnover, since the consumer is interested in a store with the largest possible range of literature.

There are negative trends in the Russian book market that make business low-profitable for book dealers and do not give book publishers the opportunity to develop.

Among the main problems of the domestic book business today are the following:

• - Low profitability of the market - 8-10%, which indicates the unstable financial situation of the industry, as well as slow turnover of funds. Due to this, there are high risks for potential investors, and the result is the lack of proposals from Western and Russian investment companies;
• - Imperfect system of taxation of publishing houses, causing an increase in costs for publishing companies, a decrease in profits, a forced underestimation of actual circulation;
• - A pronounced concentration of the publishing and bookselling business in Moscow and St. Petersburg against the backdrop of a severe shortage of bookselling and publishing companies in other regions, which contributes to an overproduction crisis caused by the absence of regional sales markets, a decrease in sales due to a decrease in the number of buyers, a general drop in interest to reading;
• - Poorly developed trade and retail network, far behind the development of the publishing market. This causes a limitation in the capacity of distribution channels and a decrease in the market volume in terms of value;
• - The unsatisfactory state of the domestic printing base, unclear prospects for state-owned printing houses, high paper prices, due to which the cost of books increases and, as a result, they become inaccessible to a significant group of low-income consumers;
• - Low (compared to European countries) prices for books with comparable prices for printing and paper. Hence the deterioration in the quality of books due to savings on the payment of qualified personnel, a decrease in the income of publishing houses;
• - Reducing the population of Russia and a drop in interest in reading among Russians, especially among the young part of the readership, which entails a reduction in the number of book consumers, pessimistic prospects for the book market due to a sharp decrease in the target audience;
• - Insufficient state regulation the book industry, the lack of state assistance to publishers and bookselling companies, which greatly slows down the development of the book business and causes high risks for potential investors;
• - Opacity of the market - no unified system accounting for published and sold book products, there is no open data on the turnover of companies. This entails the absence of official sales statistics, the inability to accurately calculate the volume and potential size of the market, high risks for potential investors;
• - Virtually no marketing strategy aimed at promoting specific products to specific buyer, from which it follows that publishers are losing consumers, since there is no advertising promotion strategy, there is an unreasonable expansion of the range due to repetitive positions, which leads to a decrease in sales;
• - Acute deficiency qualified personnel at all levels of company management. As a result - the deterioration of product quality and a decrease in publishers' income.

But there are also positive trends in the domestic book market. Among the main factors contributing to positive changes in the book market are the following:

• - The transition to more expensive editions, a decrease in interest in paperback books and, as a result, an increase in the turnover of the book market and, accordingly, the income of publishers;
• - Active development of the network book trade, the emergence of modern trade formats, distribution centers, due to which there is an increase in throughput trading network and there is an opportunity to develop regions;
• - The development of online book trade, the emergence of online bookstores, as a result of which the attraction of a younger part of the audience increases, an additional distribution channel appears;
• - Creation of associations of publishers and book distributors (RKS, AKI, ASKR). Thanks to this, potential consolidation of the industry begins, it becomes possible to defend the interests of market participants at the state level, as well as the opportunity to conduct large-scale market research, which is necessary for long-term planning;
• - Increasing the income of the population, which contributes to the potential increase in the turnover of the book market;
• - Successful projects of cooperation between publishers and the film industry ("The Lord of the Rings", "Hary Potter"), which creates additional opportunities for advertising books and results in an increase in sales;
• - Development of effective marketing strategies by individual large publishing houses, which contributes to a more detailed study of consumer preferences, increasing consumer awareness of novelties in the book market;
• - Attraction of investments in the book trade and publishing business ("Top-kniga", "Olma Media Group").

So in modern conditions The Russian book business is a developing field of activity, which has its own positive and negative trends, undoubtedly requiring constant improvement of technologies and the implementation of effective management approaches.

The most important principle in the formation of the assortment of goods in a bookstore is to ensure its compliance with the nature of the demand of the population. The assortment of a bookselling enterprise ultimately determines the commercial success of its work. The breadth of the choice of book products, a number additional services provided to the customer in the store make the bookselling retailer attractive to visitors.

The formation of the assortment of a bookselling organization is carried out by commodity specialists and managers according to a well-known scheme:

Each specialist works with regular suppliers with whom a supply contract is concluded at the end of the calendar year or at the beginning of the next;

New suppliers are usually identified at book fairs. ;

New publisher suppliers as well as individuals can come to bookstores themselves and offer their books .

Numerous proposals received by mail in the form of price lists, catalogs are considered; the proposals published in the industry and less often in the central press are studied; in recent times Internet publishing and bookselling websites are increasingly viewed.

The search and study of suppliers is achieved through constant monitoring of publishers. At the same time, it is necessary to systematically visit wholesale book fairs and markets, study advertisements in the media mass media, keep track of new products in the special press: in the journals "University Book", "Book Business", in the newspaper "Book Review", etc. The most significant fairs are held in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod.

The formation of an assortment in a bookstore has some features that are directly related to the specifics of the book as a product and to the specifics of the book market.

The market for book production is specific due to the fact that the product - a book - is an object of culture, it is of a dualistic nature, the usefulness of a book can only be determined conditionally. As a category of "goods" it is characterized by consumer properties, its stay on the market is limited to a certain life cycle. But the book is eternal as the cultural heritage of the nation, it is evidence of the development of society as a whole, many copies retain their cultural value for years. Real market price the book that the consumer is willing to pay determines the prevailing mentality of society, its cultural and educational traditions.

The publishing and bookselling business is subject to the laws of classical business. However, modern publishers, as entrepreneurs, are required not to blindly submit to mass market processes, often expressed in simplification of the decision. It is necessary to take into account the creative individuality of the book, its spiritual integrity and make commercial decisions based on this.

It is known that the book performs several functions: communicative, cognitive, educational, aesthetic, spiritual. Today, the book is in competition with other media, and competition in this area of ​​information has intensified. But, nevertheless, it does not lose its fundamental role and its valuable position in the market. It can be observed that now they are reading no less, and reading is going on in a significant amount simultaneously with the use of other media. The frequency of reading depends on the so-called socialization. Therefore, serious market research must take into account the socialization and motivational conditions of reading in a socially differentiated society. This should be taken into account when forming the book assortment.

The book is not an essential item, but a person almost daily encounters book products, constantly feels the need for it. At the heart of the highly efficient entrepreneurial activity firms are implementing the basic principles of marketing,

associated with knowledge of the market situation for book products, its feature, determined by the dualistic nature of the product being sold - books.

With regard to the publishing business and its product - the book - the concept of "benefit" can be differentiated as follows:

- benefit to the reader;

- benefit for the wholesale buyer;

— benefits for government and educational institutions.

At the time of purchasing book products, the consumer - an individual wants to satisfy his needs different levels and content.

1. Psychological - the desire to understand and unravel another person, create your own idea of ​​the world, find answers to your questions, experience catharsis: self-purification with compassion, fear and delight, which the book helps to do.
2. The needs of belonging - awareness of the events taking place around, the study of the biographies of prominent people.
3. Self-realization needs - obtaining new knowledge, improving one's professional level.

It is known that the more needs a product satisfies, the higher the likelihood that it will be bought.

The wholesale buyer views the book differently than the reader. And these differences are explained by differences in the benefits for them. The wholesaler puts economic, commercial interests at the forefront, while the reader pays attention to the educational and informational nature of the book.

Motives for purchasing books for educational and public institutions are significantly different from those above. Consumers act in the interests of the organization, taking into account the economic, consumer and operational "properties" of the book. As you know, demand is a form of market manifestation of a need presented on the market and provided with appropriate in cash, i.e. paying need. In turn, the need is usually defined as a need or lack of something necessary to maintain the vitality of the body, the functioning of the individual, social group population or society as a whole. In the process of social development, needs grow and change. At present, the structure of consumption is changing, and the purchase of a book is no longer a priority. The process of consumption itself is the use and use of book products in order to satisfy the need for knowledge, information, reading as a pastime factor, leisure.

It is not enough to publish a book; it must find its buyer. If it's about consumer market, then the buyer -individual- independently makes a purchase decision, guided by his own needs. If we are talking about the resale market, then this is wholesale buyer, which focuses primarily on commercial success.

All the main problems of the book production market, one way or another, are connected with consumer demand, which expresses the total social need for book production. The volume and structure of demand depends on many factors of the marketing environment, but especially on socio-economic, demographic, cultural ones. Demand also fluctuates seasonally. For example, literature on agriculture relevant in the spring and summer. In addition, when forming the assortment, take into account life cycle books, the degree of saturation of the market with a publication. The specifics of the book market itself also affects the process of selecting assortment items.

The book market is a market for intellectual products. Publishing is very different from the usual production of goods. Here the author acts as a co-producer. As a result of the work of the team - editor, proofreader, artist, layout designer - a finished product of a book appears, which is a product of creative work. It should be noted that competition in the book market is largely determined by the competition of authors and their popularity. And this is another specific feature of the book market. In order to achieve commercial success, it is necessary to clearly understand who the work is intended for. Targeting in publishing is very important. Reading and buying books becomes pragmatic. The consumer most often knows exactly which edition he needs. The specificity of the book is determined by a diverse contingent of consumers. Conventionally, they can be divided into several groups, taking into account their purchasing power, reader preferences, and socio-demographic characteristics. Proper segmentation of the book market largely determines the strategy of the book publishing company. Knowledge of specific market segments provides the basis for the selection of competitive literature in the assortment of the store. Readership analysis is a complex process.

There are two main reasons for market segmentation:

1. Concentration of market attention on those groups of buyers whose needs the company hopes to satisfy;
2. The objective need to develop a marketing strategy in relation to buyers and competitors.

The purpose of market research is to identify the readership that prefers a certain type of book publications: socio-demographic groups among which the book will be distributed; the purchasing power of these groups; spiritual demands dominating in these group. Having objective information on these issues, you can determine how many books and what topics should be purchased.

And first of all, the bookselling organization should be interested in the following data: the real audience of readers of books on a certain subject; potential audience; age; the level of education; National composition; aesthetic tastes; literary preference. Obviously, large bookstores, chain stores can call, form their assortment much wider and deeper, compared to smaller trading organizations.

For the store, information about a potential buyer is interesting. The main motive for acquiring a book is the desire of a person to improve his professional level. Therefore, business and educational literature is quoted on the modern book market. In the first half of 2009, the number of titles of such literature amounted to 77% of total number, the total circulation at the same time amounted to 62%.

It is not enough to have information about the needs of the reader, it is necessary to convey to him information about the available assortment of a book publishing and bookselling company. There was an urgent need to create objective information about the book as a commodity along the entire path of its passage from the publisher to the reader. The Russian book market has turned from a scarce market, when the lack of information support had almost no effect on the production and sale of books, in a saturated market, where a lack of information support can seriously affect the production of books, their sale.

Book publishing, which has been intensively developing since the 15th century, has not lost its relevance, despite increased competition from the media, the Internet, e-books. On the contrary, it is successfully developing, and it is premature to talk about the end of the Gutenberg era. According to the Russian Book Chamber, the number of book titles for the six months of 2009 increased by more than 6.4 thousand compared to the same indicators: 65,193 titles against 58,787 last year. At the same time, their total circulation increased: 371 million copies. against last year's record for a number of years 342 million copies. What is significant - this is happening against the backdrop of crisis phenomena in the economy.

The dualistic nature of the book requires from the commercial apparatus of the company a dynamic organization of trade, aimed not only at commercial success, but also at satisfying the spiritual needs of the population. The success of a bookselling enterprise depends on its competitiveness, which in turn depends on the effectiveness of its commercial and marketing activities firms; competent management; quality and range of products offered; market segmentation; organizational structure enterprises; organization of work of workers.

New Information Technology demand from the subjects of the book market - publishing houses, bookselling organizations, libraries, bibliographic centers - close cooperation. In this regard, it is necessary to carry out scientific and research work in the field of developing a unified information platform for the development of publishing, bookselling and librarianship. The result of this work should be a system that allows giving maximum information to consumers about book production: statistics, published books, books in print, in stock. A unified publishing and bookselling classification will make it easier for the consumer to find the right book.

Despite the positive dynamics, the book market is experiencing certain difficulties associated with the global financial crisis. There is a threat from international and economic factors of the marketing environment to the book market. This is due to the specifics of the book as a commodity, and also to the fact that the book, alas, does not belong to the essential goods.

The book market is rapidly changing, and the subjects of the market - publishers and booksellers - are increasingly forced to face the problem of the need to increase the competitiveness of the book. This is not only about competition among publishers for certain segments of the book market, but also about the definition competitive advantage books as a product in the system of commodity-money relations. Today, when the incomes of the population are declining, when inflation is growing, it is quite difficult to do this.

Book publishing depends on the socio-economic development of the country, so the problems of the economy largely determine the problems of the book industry.

It is premature to say that the position of the book market is steady and stable. The limiting factors for the development of the book market include, first of all, the limited financial capabilities of its participants, and problems associated with the consumer.

Reading in market environment became not only pragmatic, but also functional. The buyer acquires the book, based on the belief in its expediency, necessity. In the 1970s and 1990s, books were cheap, sometimes bought for the sake of buying, and could go unread. Today, the choice of the buyer is more balanced.

A much more serious problem is related to the level of income of various groups of the population, since the book market is too dependent on this. It is obvious that the price of book production must be much higher than the cost of its production. A book is an intellectual, creative, unique product. The book should not be cheap due to its specifics, or should be cheaper as a result of state support for book publishing and book distribution.

The book trade is an intermediary between the publisher and the reader. In retail trade, the process of circulation of book products is being completed through certain technological and commercial processes. The specifics of the goods sold - books, the features of the book market determine the specifics of marketing activities in the market of book products, the formation of the assortment.

All trade workers pay great attention to the process of forming a trading assortment. This is due to the fact that the commercial success of the store depends on how rationally the assortment list is selected.

In this way, essential principle formation of the assortment of goods in a bookstore is to ensure its compliance with the nature of the demand of the population. It should provide for the comprehensive satisfaction of customer demand within the selected market segment. The breadth of the choice of book products, the range of additional services provided to the buyer in the store, make the bookselling retail enterprise attractive to visitors.

Zintsova M.V.,

Candidate of Economics, Associate Professor of the Department

Before proceeding with the study, it is necessary to determine which trade enterprise should be considered a bookstore.

Book store- is a "retailer that sells publishing book products. As a rule, the bookstore has shopping room where products are sold (and internal advertising of the store), as well as warehouses for receiving and storing the bookselling assortment. Aigistov R.A. Current state Moscow book trade. - M.: RKP, 2005, p. 71

A distinctive feature of a bookstore is its constant presence in the market, its constant readiness to satisfy the needs of customers. Now in Moscow there are many different "book fairs", "sales", "clubs", etc. Often these events take place in separate rooms, in large areas, under the appropriate signs. However, they usually have the status of temporary events, and the store must work constantly, in a specific place, according to a certain schedule, which should suit the majority of buyers.

The point of sale should have some external signs of a bookstore: a signboard, a book showcase, etc. In other words, if potential buyer walks down the street, he must see information that in this place books are sold: a sign (albeit a small one), an advertisement, etc. Large departments of books located in shopping centers can also be considered bookstores, since a potential buyer knows that book sales are also carried out in this place. A separate room in a large library, given over to the sale of books, can also be considered a bookstore, since in this place, the client is informed in advance about the availability of books, including those for sale.

The shop premises should be separate, with a separate entrance. Book trade, deployed in the "corner", in the foyer of the institution, on the "wall", cannot be considered a store. Finally, the store primarily carries out trade (mainly retail), and not only taking orders and non-exhibition activities without selling, etc.

1) The largest bookstores ("giants")

The researchers included the largest Moscow stores in this group: Moscow House of Books on Novy Arbat, Trade House Biblio-Globus, Trading house book "Moscow" and the House of Books "Young Guard". These stores have been operating on the market for several decades and are consistently perceived by consumers as the main sources of purchasing books in Moscow. They provide a large volume of trade and have large retail space in convenient and familiar places for the buyer. According to the estimates of the Moscow Book Chamber, this group provides more than half (54.8%) of the citywide turnover of stationary retail bookselling;

2) Bookstores bookstores

In addition to the Moscow House of Books chain of stores, this group includes stores of such chains as the New Book Center, the chain of the AST publishing group, Top-Kniga (the Chitay-Gorod stores were considered as belonging to this chain), "Bookbury", "Edelweiss", "Bibliosfera" and some others. In total, this group includes 101 enterprises (including the Moscow House of Books on Novy Arbat);

3) Self-operating ("independent") bookstores

This is the largest group of retail books trade enterprises. They implement the main social function book trade, buyers' access to a fairly wide range of book products, in a place convenient for buyers and at a convenient time for them;

4) Publisher Stores

Over the past decade, in connection with the significant changes taking place on the Moscow bookselling scene, many publishing houses have opened their own bookstores. A total of 33 such outlets. As a rule, these stores offer a rather narrow assortment of "their" books of the publisher and "foreign" publications of similar subjects, purchased from other publishers (by exchange or ordinary sale and purchase). Among the shops of publishing houses, there is a high proportion of shops of humanitarian (“intellectual”) books. Such stores, as a rule, specialize in topics intended for a relatively narrow circle of readers.

5) Religious Book Stores

This is a small group of shops, usually located at the operating temples or close to them. In such stores, as a rule, a not very wide range of religious (mainly Orthodox) publications is offered, issued by the editorial and publishing departments of monasteries, churches, church institutions or several specialized publishing houses;

6) Shops for school supplies, which presents a fairly wide range of textbooks and educational literature. This group of retail trade enterprises is also not numerous. These businesses are not strictly bookstores, but provide access to books for the public and generally meet the criteria listed above. Also in Moscow there are many retail bookselling enterprises occupying separate premises in newly built shopping centers. Although these enterprises are more like large kiosks, they are still classified as bookstores, since they occupy a fairly large area (more than 10 square meters) and offer a wide range of books (usually more than 10,000 titles).

Despite the ubiquity of all kinds of electronic media, books are still in demand. And this situation is unlikely to change in the near future. A business selling books can bring in a good income if organized properly. Consider how to open a bookstore: how to register and pay taxes, where to get goods, how to choose a store location to maximize traffic, how much money will be needed to organize this business, etc.

Registration and taxes

The bookstore owner can. If there are several owners, then a limited liability company will be a more convenient form of registration.

Your activity code is 52.47 " Retail books, magazines, newspapers, stationery and stationery. Convenient tax system single tax on imputed income (UTII). It can be paid by shops with an area not exceeding 150 sq.m.

If you independently purchase or rent premises outside the shopping center, then you will need to obtain permits from the SES and the fire inspectorate.

Shop space

Where should a bookstore be located in order to bring profit to its owner? Of course, in a busy place, where your potential buyers will see it.

It is very good to open bookstores near large supermarkets or right on their territory. Even better - in popular and visited shopping centers. The advantages of this location are obvious. First, a constant flow of customers. You do not even have to spend money on advertising, you only need a bright, noticeable sign and a well-designed showcase. Secondly, you will not need to worry about obtaining permits for trading in the rented premises, these concerns are taken over by the administration of the shopping center. The same goes for security.

When choosing a room for a bookstore in a shopping center, try to choose the most visited places: at the entrance, at the elevators or escalators, near the most famous and popular stores, regardless of their orientation.

Acquisition of premises for a store in the property is very expensive and often beyond the reach of a novice entrepreneur. Therefore, it is usually more profitable to rent a room. Another option is to invest in a building under construction. shopping center. When it is built, you will receive your own square meters on which you can place the store.

bookstore format

The most popular among the population are small bookstores (40-50 sq.m.) with a universal assortment. Such stores are also most popular among entrepreneurs, as they are able to bring maximum profit. Especially, being located in small towns or sleeping areas of large cities and in the absence of nearby competitors.

And yet, in some cases, it is beneficial to open not universal, but specialized bookstores. For example:

• Shop for children's books (and educational toys). It is advisable to open such a store near the center of children's creativity, with a kindergarten, and even better - in an area where there are several kindergartens nearby. And also near the children's clinic or in the malls of children's stores.
• Shop of specialized high school literature. Opens in close proximity to universities or on campuses.
• Antique bookstore or secondhand bookstore. Relevant for large cities. May fit in with other antique shops.
• A small shop for light entertainment reading: inexpensive paperback books, mostly genre literature. It can successfully function in a resort town, in a busy place on the way to the beach.

bookstore assortment

You need to be well versed in the book publishing business, know what's hot right now, stay up to date with future releases, and plan ahead for them to appear in your store. That is, you must clearly know the answer to the question: what is being read now and what will be read tomorrow. And sell just that.

In addition, there are destinations that are in constant or seasonal demand. The former include children's literature, as well as fiction books: genre literature (detectives, action films, women's novels, science fiction), modern prose, both domestic and foreign, and, of course, classics in all its variants (prose, poetry, Russian literature). , foreign - from antiquity to the present day).

The latter include school and university textbooks, gift editions (actively sold out on the eve of holidays), some sections of specialized literature, for example, gardening.

If space permits, in addition to books, you can sell postcards, calendars, reproductions of paintings and wall maps, a small set of the best-selling stationery, developing toys in the department of books for the smallest, etc. in addition to books.

Equipment and accommodation

In order to conveniently arrange the goods, you will need shelves, racks, showcases, slides and cabinets. All equipment should be positioned to accommodate the maximum number of books and at the same time leave enough space for customers.

The optimal form of trade for a bookstore is free access to goods like a supermarket. A book is not a commodity that can be chosen by looking at it from afar. Buyers always want to look through and look at books.

In addition to placing goods, you will need to take care of the equipment of the cashier's workplace, as well as lockers for bags. You will need cash machine with a scanner to optimize and speed up the checkout process of the purchased goods.

Goods deliveries

On the supply of books, you can negotiate directly with publishers, or with wholesalers and intermediaries. With publishing houses, you can agree on the supply of goods for sale - this is very profitable and convenient. Perhaps they will agree to this not immediately, but after some period of cooperation. Therefore, you must be prepared for the fact that you will have to pay in full for the first batch of goods. Trade margin on books - 50 - 100%. In some cases, it may be higher.

Consider the transport issue as well. You may decide that it will be cheaper to deliver the goods yourself. If there is such an opportunity, fine. In some cases, it is more convenient to conclude an agreement with transport company. Some wholesale firms when ordering large quantities and subject to long-term cooperation, they themselves deliver the goods to customers.

Store staff

You will need:

• Manager and merchandiser, it is possible in one person. Usually this function is performed by the store owner himself, especially at the first stage.
• Accountant. This unit may be freelance.
• Sales assistants, cashiers. It is optimal to have four people who will work in shifts, two by two, performing all of the above functions.

The bookstore should be staffed by people who are passionate about reading, who are versed in literature, including all new book releases. They should be contact and sociable, be able to advise and offer something, as well as discuss this or that book. You must encourage your sales consultants to broaden their horizons and increase their knowledge. To do this, you can allow them to borrow books to read on the weekend, as well as buy the publications they like at a wholesale price.

Initial business investment

The next important question is: how much does it cost to open a bookstore?

Approximate cost estimate for a bookstore with a size of about 50-60 sq.m.

• Registration of an enterprise with the tax authorities - 5,000
• Obtaining permits for trading in the premises - 5,000
• Repair, equipment, signage and lighting - 200,000
• Purchase of goods (about 10 thousand books) - 1,000,000
• Room rental - 50,000 per month
• Salary - 140 000
• Other expenses - 100,000

So, the opening of a small bookstore will require 1.5 million rubles. The payback of such a business is about a year.

A bookstore business plan is the most important part of getting ready to open. It must be drawn up even before you start looking for a room for a store and think about the assortment. Your business plan may differ slightly or significantly from the one presented above. It depends on a large number of factors: the cost of rent, the population of your city, the remoteness of publishers and suppliers, the presence or absence of competition, etc.

How to open an online bookstore

Trading via the Internet is a modern and in many respects a convenient form of doing business. You can open a bookstore on the Internet as an addition to an existing store in reality or as an independent business.

The main difficulty of this venture is to create an extensive, detailed, user-friendly and attractive product catalog, where each book will be presented on a separate page with a cover photo and a detailed description.

The second important point is the delivery of the products chosen by the buyer after their order and payment. There are three main ways to deliver goods from an online store:

• Express delivery. The most reliable and profitable way. Its disadvantage is that it can be used over short distances, most often within the city.
• Post office. It is also a fairly convenient and reliable method, but more expensive and takes much more time.
• Express delivery companies. Fast and reliable, but very expensive. Few buyers agree to pay for this form of shipping.

Online book sales is a fairly new business, but it is rapidly developing and profitable. According to analysts, books on this moment- the most common and best-selling product on the Internet.

Features of working with the assortment printed publications

The assortment of a bookstore is the entire selection of books (titles) available in it. Kinds publishing products: non-periodic and periodicals. Subjects of books, their classification according to their purpose. Studying the State Educational Standards Editions. Classification of types of publications according to their inherent characteristics.

Assortment is a set of products offered to customers in order to attract attention, increase sales.

When forming the assortment of a bookstore, the following factors must be considered:

Shop Specialization

Ø Cultural and economic profile of the served area

The bookstore has a selection of books various kinds taking into account the classification features in accordance with GOS 7.60-2003 Edition.

A publication is a document intended for the dissemination of the information contained in it, which has undergone editorial and publishing processing, is independently designed, and has advantageous information.

Classification of types of publications according to their inherent features

Types of publications

3.2.1 Types of publications by frequency

3.2.2 Types of publications according to the composition of the main text

3.2.3 Types of publications according to the iconic nature of information. Types of art publications

3.2.4 Types of non-periodicals

3.2.4.1 Types of publications by intended purpose

3.2.4.2 Types of publications by reader's address

3.2.4.3 Types of publications by the nature of information

3.2.4.4 Types of publications by the nature of analytical and synthetic processing of information

3.2.4.5 Types of publications by original content

3.2.4.6 Types of publications by way of organizing works

3.2.4.8 Types of publications by repetition of issue

3.2.5 Types of periodicals and continuing publications

3.2.6 Types of printed publications by material design

3.2.7 Types of printed publications by format

3.2.8 Types of printed publications by the nature of design and method of printing

3.2.10 Types of publications by nature of circulation

3.2.11 Types of publications issued in honor of an event or person

Analysis of product groups

Task 1: Form and analyze trade assortment: analyze the assortment of a bookstore by subject, type of publication and readership. Present the analysis in the form of a table 1. Calculate the assortment indicators: structure, present the results in the form of a table (example table 2).

Table 1 Analysis of the assortment by subject, types of publications in the bookstore in the period from 02/20/2011 to 03/20/2011

Merchandising section	The number of presented publications in the range, copies.	Subject Character of information (genre)	Types of publications	By reader's
			Official publications	Specialists	Labor Code of the Russian Federation
			Literary and artistic	Wide circle	Kryzhanovskaya - Rochester V.I. Daughter of a sorcerer. Moscow: Ripol Classic. - 2008, 432s.
		Textbook for universities		Specialists	Ten E.E. Fundamentals of medical knowledge: A textbook for universities. - M .: Academy, 2007. - 256 p.

Conclusion: After analyzing the trading assortment of a bookstore, we can conclude that literary and artistic publications occupy a large part of the total volume of book production. The second place is occupied by educational publications. The reader's appointment is mainly for a wide range of readers.

Table 2. Structure of the range of publications

Conclusion: As can be seen from the table. one, specific gravity reference publications in physical terms, 2.9 times higher than in monetary terms. A large share in the assortment is occupied by educational literature - 39.2%, which is determined by the demand for these publications.

When regulating the assortment structure, one should take into account the economic benefits of the enterprise in the case of the predominance of expensive or cheap goods, the cost recovery for their delivery, storage and sale, as well as the solvency of the consumer segment that the trade organization focuses on.

The choice of indicators of the assortment structure in one expression or another is determined by analytical purposes. If it is necessary to determine the need for storage space, as well as the area for displaying goods, then analyze the structure of the assortment in physical terms. When analyzing profitability certain types goods take into account the structure of the range in terms of money.