At a time when traditional bookstores are struggling to stay afloat, Dymocks says it sold more books in 2012 than ever before, and it will continue down the path of expansion in 2013.
While Steve Cox, managing director, Dymocks acknowledges the retail sector has not been performing at its best in recent times, the company has been focusing its efforts on the customer.
“My focus has been on our customers, and on better understanding them through this time, as we continue to evolve to stay relevant,” he said.
He cites online book retailers as a major competitor, because they can avoid Australia’s parallel importation restrictions, which means they are often able to sell the same books for less.
“We’re constantly trying to ensure the prices we offer customers are globally competitive.
“As such, we’d like to see the parallel importation restrictions removed. The world’s moved on,” he said.
Cox attributes much of the company’s success to its franchise model. “We’re locally owned and operated book specialists.
“Our customers know we’re passionate about our product, and come to us for local advice and local service. That means we’re well positioned in a challenging market,” he told LeadingCompany.
While Dymocks recently closed its D Publishing platform (less than 18 months after it started), with Cox citing it “didn’t match up with what we needed to deliver for our customers,” a number of its other online ventures are here to stay.
Its Booklovers loyalty-card program, a customer driven initiative that allows the company to market books to customers based on their individual interests, is one such example.
“It’s about marketing to the single person – instead of broad-brush communication, making it relevant to the individual. We’ve got a long way to grow to be truly successful, but we’ve made huge progress on that,” said Cox.
Dymocks is also looking to broaden the gap between the service customers receive online compared to in store, and there are plans to introduce its full online catalogue to stores.
Looking to the future, Cox has a positive outlook. “I think there is a really strong future for book retailers.
“The thing that underpins that is that customers and people in general have always loved to read, and now, they’re doing it more than ever before,” he added.
He is well aware that the company will need to change and adapt with the times, however he also believes customers will always enjoy browsing through books at bricks-and-mortar stores.
“People look online, but they also love walking through a bookstore,” said Cox.
Image: the Dymocks store at 424 George St, Sydney. Facebook.com/Dymocks