Book industry under continued hard pressure

The book industry is still facing major challenges in connection with the corona pandemic, something the Culture News has previously reported.

Between week 11 and 17 sales in physical bookstores decreased by 37.4 per cent compared to the same period last year. If you include book sales in other types of stores, such as grocery stores, and online shopping, which performs significantly better, sales decreased by a total of 9.5 percent, compared with 2019. This shows statistics from the Swedish Publishers Association and the Swedish Booksellers Association.

- The Corona pandemic mainly strikes against two types of stores. Those located in shopping malls and galleries and those located in areas with many offices and workplaces. Stores in street mode have fared better so far, says Maria Hamrefors, chair of the Swedish Bookstore Association, to the Culture News.

The requirement for social distancing affects the country's bookstores in different ways. There are those stores that, despite the pressured situation, feel that customers are becoming more loyal and want to support their local bookstore.

Anders Källgren runs the bookstore Globe bookstore in Ludvika and Uppsala.

- We have 20 percent fewer customers, but those who come in buy more. In Ludvika, we have lost less than 10 percent, and in Uppsala we have increased sales by 15 percent. We sell physical books but also a lot of circuits, such as puzzles and games, and we do a lot online. It is very different to what it usually is, says Anders Källgren and continues:

- People understand that if they want to keep their local bookstore, they have to buy books. I was just leaving with a bag of books for a customer. We build customer relationships without its equal.

The physical bookstores are not the only ones affected by the corona crisis. A survey conducted by Svensk Bokhandel shows that 17 out of 23 responding book publishers state that sales have decreased. Four state that they have lost between 20 and 40 percent, according to SvB.

However, two publishers state that sales have increased and the greater the focus on digital books, the greater the chance seems to be to pass through the corona crisis.

The Corona pandemic affects all branches of the book industry, according to Maria Hamrefors.

- Lower sales in the bookstores mean that publishers find it harder to sell books through that channel. If they do not sell books, it will hit the authors. I worry because the book industry had a low endurance before.

But Anders Källgren at Globe bookstore looks positive for the future.

- I usually joke and say that I'll be the last one to hit the door, he says.