Educart Organises a Special Training Event for Delhi/NCR Retailers, Commits to Focus on Offline CBSE Book Shops’ Growth

In a star-studded afternoon at India International Centre on 12th September 2024, the best and oldest book retailers from Delhi, Faridabad, Meerut, Ghaziabad, and Gurgaon gathered together for the first time in decades for a special cause.

Book shops are the backbone of the education supply chain as we all have relied on them at some point in our lives to buy important books. But they are also the least tech-savvy, old-fashioned, and biggest victims of the e-commerce growth story, which they call ‘online’.

However, Educart (Agrawal Group of Publications) became the first publishing house to take the initiative of supporting the book shops in this online discount war and introduce them to tools to increase counter sales.

On a fine rainy (drizzly) afternoon last Thursday, more than 100+ retailers were invited by Educart to participate in a unique workshop. From Bansal Book Depot in Gurgaon (oldest retailer, dating back to 1984) to Lamba Book Stall in Tilak Nagar, Libra Books & Stationers in Noida, and Kumar Book Agencies in Meerut, everyone came.

Everyone had mixed expectations about what was to unfold. Some brought along/voiced frustrations related to returns, discounts, and lack of support by publishing houses in general. But Mr. Ripul Agrawal, Managing Director of Educart Publications, tried to reassure them of certain new policies that will affect change (at least from Educart’s perspective).

Mr. Ripul touched upon various topics, ranging from how it’s unfair to compete with online players, and gave reassurances that offline book shops have solid unique advantages that online shopping cannot beat.

“Students want books immediately. They need to open the books, compare the content with other books, read a few Questions, check the price, and eventually ask the shopkeeper for validation on which book is best. This overall experience is critical in decision-making and can never be replaced by online shopping. You will always be the favourite go-to place in your locality for most people. That is your moat and no one can take this away from you.” said Mr. Agrawal when addressing the retailers.

Many retailers shared frustrations over publishing industry online discounts making it impossible to convince students to buy at the shop. It’s frustrating when a customer comes to your shop and shoves his phone on your face saying ‘online sasta hai’.

Mr. Agarwal suggested that this problem can only be solved when publishers start controlling the discounts on e-commerce platforms to maintain a level playing field. He also announced the discount ceiling that Educart has implemented for the first time in the publishing industry, stopping Amazon and Flipkart from selling any Educart book above a certain percentage. This attracted a lot of cheer from the retailers.

It was refreshing to see the book retailers discuss their challenges openly and mediate solutions that can drive some change in the future. Educart also announced in the event their latest Sample Papers (CBSE Class 10 and 12) books launch at a special 5% extra discount, which was only available to offline book shops for the first time.

After lunch, a session on ‘sales and branding at book shops’ was conducted by a Sales Veteran and a well-known counsellor Mr Anubhav Rakheja. He provided an electrifying session focusing on practical and zero-cost strategies to boost sales. He shared valuable insights on enhancing customer experience, optimising store layout, and leveraging word-of-mouth marketing without spending a dime.

Retailers learned that small changes, like personalised customer service, collaborations with local coachings, better body language, freebies, creative in-store displays, and review-based incentives on discounts can significantly increase footfall and drive sales. Mr Rakheja's session was a game-changer, leaving attendees energised and equipped with actionable ideas to implement immediately in their shops.

“Agar student ko koi nearest bookseller search karna hota hai toh woh ‘RK Stall Book Seller’ search nahi karta. Woh ‘bookseller near me’ search karega. Toh Google pe aapki listing honi chahiye with Bookseller written with your shop name. Aap local search main toh aana shuru kariye. Farak padega!”

- said Mr Rakheja during his session, which made a lot of sense.

The event ended on a very positive note as every book retailer was called on stage to be facilitated with a certificate by Mr. Agrawal and with their biggest asset (their bookshop) at the backdrop, to have the perfect Kodak moment to remember. Rarely do these gestures take place for them and hopefully, the learnings and renewed confidence in their line of work will go a long way ahead.

Below is a list of some of the book retailers that attended this special workshop.

Let’s hope this trend started by Educart to support local retailers in their sales and growth journey continues as we move towards finding a balance between offline and online sales. Special contribution from Mr. Rakheja for educating and motivating the retailers on this special occasion.