Hon Wing Bookstore, which has stood in Hong Kong for 60 years, will bid farewell on New Year's Eve (31st) and close its stores.
The second-generation helmsman Shi Hanji accepted an interview with "Hong Kong 01" and said that under the epidemic, the operation of the bookstore is difficult, and closing is "a problem that must be faced sooner or later". With a damaged company reputation, “people will always remember your best.”
"Earning? We don't know how to calculate that!" Shi Hanji said with a smile, he seldom calculates the profit for a certain period of time. If he calculates the rent, he believes that the loss is astronomical, and he must "do not make a profit". Although the bookstore has had difficulties in the past, Regardless of profit or loss, continue to persist, only thinking about how to do better.
Hon Wing Bookstore closed.
Interview｜Behind the fact that there is no textbook that cannot be bought: if it cannot be sold, it is garbage
Special store displays old photos to review the milestones of the bookstore
Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei, where people come and go, the eight-character signboard of "Hon Wing Book Co., Ltd." and the familiar boat-shaped logo are obvious.
Graduation is imminent, and the three Shi brothers vacated the bookcases in the store, and pasted the old photos of Hanrong Bookstore on the wall, looking back at the milestones of the bookstore one after another.
The sharp depreciation of the Hong Kong dollar during the reunification negotiations turned the crisis into a turning point
Shi Hanji, who is 72 years old, is the eldest son in the family. Since he was 12 years old, he and his two younger brothers followed their father, Shi Jingyi, to push a wooden cart on Nelson Street to sell second-hand textbooks.
Recalling his life as a book seller in the past 60 years, Shi Hanji recounted the most difficult time, which was when China and Britain started negotiations on the return of Hong Kong. To one dollar, the difference is doubled.
Although the bookstore was financially tight back then, Shi's family insisted not to "delay" in order not to damage the company's reputation. After paying a lot of money, foreign publishers will look at us differently...it should be rewarded for good intentions." After that, the business of Hanrong Bookstore expanded rapidly, and the stores moved bigger and bigger.
Since its establishment in 1970, Hon Wing Bookstore moved to Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei in 2011.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei)
The three brothers have reached the age of 60 and their bodies are strained to varying degrees
"Earn? We don't know how to calculate it like that!" The reporter asked how much money he could make in a year at the most prosperous time, and Shi Hanji laughed it off: "It's hard to say, even if this year is good, if there is a chance to have a new year, it's not good. But usually we seldom count for a certain period of time, because we have to do it no matter whether we make money or lose money, we just try to find a way to do it well." He also pointed out that the store alone occupies more than 4,000 square feet. The warehouse occupies more than 10,000 square feet. If the rent is taken into account, the loss is astronomical, and it will definitely not make money.
Our company name has been good for decades. When many people see our company's boat boy, they know it, ah!
I have helped you!
We don't want our company name to suffer any loss, so we must do it well, let's do it first.
Shi Hanji, head of Hanrong Bookstore
Over the years, they have been on the run, the three brothers and their wives are over sixty years old, and their bodies have suffered from different degrees of strain, including fifty shoulder and waist injuries.
There are currently 6 employees in the sales department and 3 employees in the warehouse to maintain daily operations.
Aged 72, Shi Hanji has been running Hanwing Bookstore for 60 years.
The impact of the new crown virus in Hong Kong has made the bookstore understaffed and difficult to operate. Shi Hanji expressed that he hopes to leave at the best time.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei)
The impact of the epidemic is the key to the decision to end
The impact of the new crown virus in Hong Kong has brought another dilemma to the operation of bookstores.
Every summer vacation, Hanrong Bookstore will hire about 30 students to deal with a large number of books before the school starts. In recent years, it has been difficult to hire people. If more than one person is diagnosed, it will be necessary to suspend business for one week to 10 days, or even 20 days in the worst case, or students will not be able to buy textbooks before the start of school.
It is very difficult to face parents. Although they can understand that books are not available due to the epidemic, they are all worried that their students do not have books in class... We don’t want to be because of some circumstances beyond our control , causing damage to the company name.
Shi Hanji, head of Hanrong Bookstore
At present, major publishing houses in Hong Kong have set up factories in Guangdong Province, and the mainland has successively restricted the arrival of cross-border trucks between the two places on the grounds of epidemic prevention.
Shi Hanji pointed out that in the past, it only took 2 to 3 days from order to delivery at the bookstore, but now it takes a week to 10 days, making it difficult for the bookstore to estimate the order quantity.
E-textbook usage is expected to exceed half, textbook stores cannot survive
Shi Hanji also pointed out that in recent years, the number of students has decreased significantly, and the number of students in each grade of middle schools has dropped from 70,000 to 80,000 in the heyday to 40,000 to 50,000 today. When the epidemic was developing rapidly, the Education Bureau vigorously promoted electronic textbooks. As a result, Hanwing Bookstore, which mainly sells textbooks and reference books for middle school, preparatory and junior colleges, suffered a sharp drop in business.
In the long run, he believes that there will be less and less demand for ordinary printed textbooks.
"As long as (using) more than half of the e-textbooks, I think bookstores that sell textbooks will not be able to survive."
Shi Hanji said that the decision to close the school came suddenly. When the fifth wave of the epidemic was mentioned, the summer vacation of all schools in Hong Kong was shortened to 20 days. Bookstores needed to complete the textbook ordering and sales work of the previous 50 days within 20 days, which made the work of many bookstores unsatisfactory.
He saw that other colleagues in the industry failed to provide books to ordering students before the start of school this year, resulting in damage to their reputation. He also predicted that the epidemic will continue until next year and will not end. It is difficult for the bookstore to predict future changes, so he chose to close the business at the best time , I don't want the bookstore to have problems due to uncontrollable factors.
Hon Wing Bookstore will close its stores at the end of the year. The person in charge, Shi Hanji, described the closure as a "problem that must be faced sooner or later", and hopes to choose the best time to end.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei)
There is no way out, let’s face the reality...sooner or later we have to face this problem.
This year, many parents came here after buying books for the second time, and they all praised us.
We feel that the reputation of the family is the best in this period of time.
In this way, if it is the end of the best time, people will always remember your best career; if it is not lucky, you will do it for one more year, and after an accident, people will not remember your best Ye Ye, just remember that time when you were not good.
Shi Hanji, head of Hanrong Bookstore
Hang Wing Bookstore Closed｜More bookstores closed down!
Prejudice Study Room: Farewell Looks at $20 Textbooks｜Hanrong Bookstore closes on New Year’s Eve Store Manager: Epidemic destroys supply and reluctantly puts aside the new crown pneumonia│Book buying habits change Hanrong Bookstore stops non-textbook business to face the biggest challenge in half a century Junior high school geography books will increase prices by 6.6% The publishing house lamented the high cost and difficulty in operating Hanrong's 92% off book sales
