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Retail major Shoppers Stop-owned Crossword Bookstore plans to expand the non-book product portfolio in its outlets, as demand for music and movies, one of the largest selling categories, has come down in the recent past.
The chain will now showcase more electronic gadgets, toys and stationery in its outlets.
"Music and film sales through the stores have seen a decrease in the past 24-30 months, mainly due to the online and downloading facilities on the internet. We are right-sizing the outlets and changing the portfolio to address this," said Govind Shrikhande, managing director and customercare associate of Shoppers Stop.
The company is reducing the size of the stores to suit the product mix it presents. For instance, if the outlet had a size of around 4,000-6,000 sq ft earlier, it might be reduced to 2,200 to 3,000 sq ft, which would reduce the cost on space. It has already changed the product-mix to increase presence of toys and stationery items in the stores.
Of the 82 Crossword Bookstore outlets, half are owned by Shoppers Stop; the rest are run by franchisees. The company expects to add five stores a year, he added. The company added two Crossword stores in the final quarter of FY13, one each at Kochi and Mumbai.
The firm also plans to tie up with publishing houses to offer books with 'value addition' such as interesting facts about the author, copies with the author's signature, etc.
