Property developers are not the only ones who find small, old flats in rundown buildings appealing these days. Literature lover Jimmy Pang Chi-ming also sees their potential - to be turned into small bookshops, dedicated not to profit but to the enjoyment of the printed word.
Mr. Pang, a former film producer and scriptwriter, has recently opened such a "second-floor" bookshop in a 900-square-foot room above Nathan Road. Shops like his, tucked away on the upper floors of a commercial- cum -residential building, were popular 20 years ago when teachers and others sought shops with a "bookish" atmosphere. But numbers have shrunk from around 50 in the 70s to less than 20 in recent years due to increased competition from larger bookshops run by leading publishers.
Mr. Pang's shop, unlike the glitzier ground-floor shops in the area, aims for friendliness above glamour. "The most important thing is to have a place like this, where people can meet. My shop is a good place to get to know people I am always down there myself in the evening, chatting to customers. That helps me understand the market, readers' tastes better."
The shop is cleanly laid out with a wide selection of Chinese books, including satire published by Mr. Pang's company, Subculture. Placed near the narrow entrance is a pile of the newly-released work, 'The Private Life of Bighead Li', which satirises Chinese Premier Li Peng and is banned in stores run by mainland companies.
"With this shop, at least I have an outlet for my own publications." said Mr. Pang, 39. "Many books come on to the market each day and not every outlet will sell our books even though there is a demand for them." Such shops are made possible by the cheaper rent for the upstairs location - $ 15,000 a month compared with over $ 200,000 for a shop of the same size and location on street level. For Mr. Pang, it has always been a dream to open a bookstore of his own. Making huge profits takes a back seat to simply having such a venue.
All the "upstairs" bookshops - new and still surviving from the 70s - only sell Chinese books, deterred by the high costs of English publications. One set up in the mid-80s offers supplementary books from the mainland for local tertiary students who would not be able to get them from their campus outlet.
Wong Yan-wan, deputy chief executive editor of Sing Tao, is one of the original owners of a long-running bookshop tucked away in Wan Chai. In 1981, he and a few friends, all fresh graduates with a strong interest in Chinese literature, decided to create a haven for themselves. "Many people gathered at our place in the evenings in those days," he recalled.
It was not as encouraging business-wise. The shop, in Johnston Road, was in the red in its first few years of operation, says Mr. Wong. But it began to make profits following that. By 1991, however, his group disbanded, turning over their joint business to a different party instead. "We were too busy to take care of it. Each one of us had different preoccupations," Mr. Wong explained. But he has no regrets. "It all depends on your motives for doing it. It would not have been worth it if money were the main concern."
Mr. Pang does not expect significant profits at all. "I hope we can have a profit equivalent to 10 per cent of our purchase costs." And even if that target cannot be reached, he says he will still be pleased as long as the shop can remain open.
"It will be great if the shop can survive. At least it means I don't have to put the books in a warehouse." Mr. Pang's three other partners - a former television executive, a university lecturer and an owner of another bookshop, are also not keen on pursuing profits. "They are very busy with their own pursuits," he said.
Mr. Pang takes pride in the fact that he does not exercise censorship over books sold, offering to the public ones he finds useful or potentially appealing. He still has one yet-to-be-fulfilled aspiration - to open a bookshop with its own coffee area. The present shop is too small, Mr. Pang says. "We hope to open a bigger one, say between 2,000 and 3,000 sq. ft big.
Sources : Adapted from the South China Morning Post, 29.07.95