By Xavier Kong
In part one of a three-part series, KiniBiz speaks to Andrew Yap and Jacqueline Ng, the husband-and-wife team that founded Bookxcess Sdn Bhd. We talk about how they came to start and run a bookstore, as well as where they got the idea to run the Big Bad Wolf sale.
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It really came as a surprise to KiniBiz when the founders of Bookxcess Sdn Bhd, Andrew Yap and Jacqueline Ng, stated that they had absolutely no inherent experience or expertise in running a bookstore prior to the establishment of the Bookxcess name in 2006.
Andrew and Jacqueline then clarified that they actually learned on the job, building up their brand of expertise as they built the brand itself.
But how did they come upon the idea? KiniBiz posed this question, and answers were received.
From petrol to books
Before Andrew and Jacqueline started Bookxcess in 2006, the husband-and-wife team had operated a petrol station along Jalan Ipoh, where Andrew had managed the station, while Jacqueline had run a magazine shop.
Andrew Yap
“It was a family business, along with a nearby workshop,” said Andrew, who explained that his childhood had revolved around cars. Andrew has admitted that, even now, cars remain one of his passions, noting that it was part of him growing up.
Upon hearing this, KiniBiz was even more intrigued, and curiosity could not stop the question from being asked: What brought about the leap to Bookxcess from cars and magazines?
As it turns out, it was all due to a remarkable spot by the duo on an open market gap in Malaysia.
“We noticed that there was a void in the market for good affordable books in Malaysia,” explained Jacqueline, adding that the price of books was among the top reasons that Malaysians were not reading.
“The cost of living being as high as it is, books are just not that high a concern, when compared to putting food on the table, clothing the family, and paying off bills and mortgages,” continued Jacqueline, adding that books have a place in the home.
As such, the duo turned towards the idea of a remainder bookstore. Coming up with the name Bookxcess to show their dedication to their vision of allowing more Malaysians access to books and reading, Andrew and Jacqueline started with a 500 square foot shop in AmCorp Mall.
“The mall was rather quiet then, and we had opened Bookxcess with no publicity and no relevant experience at the time. We were also worried about the negative impact from not carrying the latest titles, as well as being the first to introduce bargain books in the country,” Andrew related.
Indeed, the business model of the enterprising husband-and-wife team remains an interesting facet of their business. As their website, and they themselves could attest, none of the books sold at Bookxcess were old, second-hand, or damaged.
Rather, the books were excess stock that had been printed and sent to bookstores. Normally excess stock in this manner, still new and unread, would either be pulped, shredded, dumped, or sold as remainder books.
This last avenue was the door through which Bookxcess entered the market, and, by targeting remainder books, the company was able to buy them at lower prices, and in turn allows the books a second chance to be sold. At the same time, readers would be able to pick up titles at cheaper prices, making it easier on the wallet.
This business model very well serves the vision that the couple have had for the remainder bookstore ever since they had begun the endeavour, which was to allow people to “read more for less”. This also serves as the motto of their store as well.
Starting up
Recounting the first days of their foray into the remainder books market, Andrew and Jacqueline both talked about how they had pretty much learned on the job, taking on a hands-on approach, as well as a “do now, perfect later” mentality.
Other than the worry of the negative impact of not having new titles, as well as being the pioneer of the local market, the couple was also met with naysayers, as well as their own lack of experience.
Being able to sell their books at a lower price allowed the couple a unique selling point, but the couple had put just about all they had into setting up the shop, and instead took on a hands-on approach to promoting and advertising their new bookstore.
Jacqueline Ng
“Our regulars, customers that have kept coming back to us and supported us, were a very big help during that initial period,” said the couple, adding that the regulars were the ones who would provide feedback on their methods as well as help in curating their stock of books.
The couple explained that they constantly asked for feedback with regards to their stock from their customers, and listened to recommendations and suggestions from their customers, and acted upon that feedback.
Jacqueline related one particular event to KiniBiz as an example: the story of how the price tags of their books were on the front cover, rather than the back.
“My experience before this was running a magazine shop, where the practice is to have the price tags on the back of the magazine. This carried over when we started Bookxcess,” said Jacqueline.
“However, we noticed that people were not picking up the books and looking at the price tag, which was our selling point. There was a bit of worry, until some of our regulars pointed out that, since the price was our selling point, we should have it on the front cover, rather than the back,” she continued.
Upon this advice, which came when the shop was about a year old, the couple acted upon it, and saw increase interest in their merchandise almost immediately, as passers-by could see that the books on display were at a lower price as compared to mainstream bookstores.
“It is all part of how we want our business to be,” said Andrew.
“We want to treat our customers with respect, and provide them with good books at good prices in keeping with our vision when we first started this business. In return, we have customers that love the company in return. These customers have treated us as family, and we in turn, treat them as family too,” continued Andrew.
The bookstore’s regulars have aided in not only curation, but also in promotion and advertising, be it through word of mouth, or through social media.
“With the support of our customers, we currently have 380,000 friends on Facebook for the Big Bad Wolf,” said Jacqueline, who added that, through the support of their customers, they had expanded from a 500 square foot lot to a 3,000 square foot unit in six months.
Tomorrow: A day with the Big Bad Wolf
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