Out of total revenue of over VND28.87 billion, direct retail sales at stores in the Book Street accounted for 57 percent; online retail sales accounted for 21 percent, and wholesale accounted for 22 percent. In addition, the revenue in the food and beverage service activities achieved 8 percent while the revenue from publications, office supplies, stationery, and gift stores reached 92 percent.
Around 340,321 books were sold, down 25.3 percent over the same period last year, with 1,911 new book titles.
Around 72,633 children’s books were sold, accounting for 21 percent of the total number of books sold in the first six months this year, presenting a sharp increase of 37 percent compared to the same period of 2023. This segment continued to dominate with nearly VND4.56 billion (US$178.734), accounting for 15.8 percent of the total revenue.
However, the revenue from children's books showed a negligible difference compared to the same period last year showing a decrease of 1 percent due to promotional programs offering deep discounts to attract shoppers.
There were 153 activities and events that were held in HCMC Book Street, meeting the diverse needs of the people, especially young readers, and children, such as cultural and arts programs, music shows, exchanges between writers and readers, the introduction of new books, contests of book-based storytelling, book cover design, science playground, life skills activities for kids, and more.
It is estimated that HCMC Book Street would continue to face difficulties and challenges in the last six months of 2024. It required the Book Street’s management board, partners, and units to strengthen connectivity, organize numerous large-scale activities to provide a large amount of information, introduce new publications and projects, and diversify sales channels to meet demands effectively.
