Eslite Hong Kong adds second store

The ranks of English language bookshops in Hong Kong may be dwindling, but someone forgot to tell Taiwanese retailer Eslite.

The second store will be themed ‘Travellers, Taiwan, Diversity and Culture’, spread over two floors of Star City at 3 Salisbury Rd. It will feature more than 25,000 titles in Chinese and English and trade 12 hours a day, from 10am to 10pm.

The doors will open on October 1 with an official launch planned for October 9.

Eslite has enjoyed huge success with its Hysan Place store, a multi-storey venue which is as much a place to dwell as to buy books. While it cut back its trading hours from 24-seven to a late night closing, its customer numbers and sales turnover have clearly proven there remains a place for the megastore format. Reports suggest the store sold 706,000 books last year and on average its customers buy three books per visit.

Smaller rivals like Australian chain Dymocks have closed the doors of at least three stores since 2014 and the iconic design and arts-focused Page One closed its Times Square branch last February after 18 years.

Eslite, which has 48 stores in Taiwan, has a strategy in overseas markets of building a small number of large format stores with broad selection in major cities. It opened in Causeway Bay in August 2012. Besides books, it sells stationery and gift wares created by Taiwanese artists, and includes a cafe.