Chitai City - Bukvoed

Chitai-Gorod (New Book Center LLC) is a network of modern universal bookstores operating throughout Russia. Chitai-Gorod stores are part of the bookselling association - the Chitai-Gorod-Bukvoed retail chain.

History

2023: Comic book chain launch

The largest book network in Russia "Chitai-Gorod - Bukvoed" has launched a project to develop the format of comic shops (comic book store). This was announced in mid-April 2023 by the beneficiary of this retailer, co-owner of the Eksmo-AST group of companies Oleg Novikov. According to him, the pilot comic shop will open in the network's flagship store in Yekaterinburg in May 2023.

According to a representative of the Chitai-Gorod - Bukvoed network, the assortment will be based on comics by Russian authors and Asian content, for example, manga (Japan), manhua (China), manhwa (South Korea). Within six months after the launch of the store, a decision will be made to scale the project: if the pilot is successful, 20 comic shops will be opened by the end of 2023, he added in a conversation with Vedomosti.

Book network "Chitai-Gorod - Bukvoed" launched a project to develop the format of comic shops

According to the publishing group "Eksmo-AST," in 2022, comic book sales in the country accounted for 6.5% of the total commercial market for paper books, which reached 91 billion rubles. In general, comic book sales grew last year by 44% compared to 2021. By April 2023, there are more than 100,100 comic shops in the Russian Federation. Among the largest comic book stores in the country are Chuk and Geek in Moscow and Twenty-eighth in St. Petersburg, Dmitry Yakovlev, director of the Bumkniga comic book publishing house, told the publication.

The launch of comic shops will be one of the elements of the rebranding of the Chitai-Gorod - Bukvoed network, Oleg Novikov explained. Other priority areas for the retailer are integration into bookstores of recreation areas and coffee shops, an increase in the number of events (book clubs, meetings with authors, etc.) in retail outlets, the introduction of new technologies (for example, the installation of self-service checkouts). The first store of the chain in the new format will be launched in the second quarter of 2023 in the Moscow shopping and entertainment center Metropolis, Oleg Novikov said. Investments in the rebranding of one store will amount to about 15 million rubles.^[1]

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