With much fanfare, Books Kinokuniya's elegant main store in Singapore reopened this weekend in new space on the fourth floor of the Ngee Ann City Shopping Mall on Orchard Road. The store, which had to move one flight up because of a reconfiguration by the landlord, had closed for a little more than a week to make the move.
Kenny Chan, Singapore store director and director, merchandising division, called the opening weekend "fantastic," noting that the store set a record for highest gross sales in one day of all Kinokuniya outlets in recent years. "My team made a miracle happen in eight days," he said.
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| The new Books Kinokuniya almost ready for the grand opening. | |
Among the crowds visiting the store on its opening weekend was star comic book writer and artist David Hine, who wrote, "I was genuinely gobsmacked. I've never seen a bookstore so well stocked, particularly with an ENORMOUS range of graphic novels, both mainstream and independent. But more than that, to see so many people (literally hundreds of people in three enormous queues) lining up to buy armfuls of books--real PHYSICAL books. Kenny runs the bookstore with such passion for books, that goes for Felicia [Low-Jimenez, division manager, merchandising] and the rest of the staff too." He offered thanks "for your wonderful hospitality and for introducing me to what is possibly the world's finest bookstore."
At 33,000 square feet, the new Books Kinokuniya space is 20% smaller than its former location, but the store has kept its core areas intact, the Straits Times noted. "The staff felt strongly that the range of English books should not be touched, so that will remain the same, right down the wall of literature that greets readers at the main entrance," the paper wrote. "The popular children's and young adults' sections will also maintain their reach."
Japanese- and Chinese-language titles were reduced by about 20%, and French- and German-language titles were cut dramatically. Overall, the inventory of 500,000 books has been reduced to 400,000, and the café did not make the move.
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| Opening day at the new Books Kinokuniya |
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Kay Ngee Tan Architects, which designed the original third-floor store, worked on this remodeling, which aimed to "rebuild memories" of the old store, which opened in 1999. The Books Kinokuniya Singapore store has been a template for many of the Kinokuniya stores outside Japan and North America.
The store has "light accents in darker corners and windows that frame the green foliage outdoors and bring natural light into the store," the Straits Times noted, adding, "The Japanese influence on the store's interior design is subtle but present--the interlocking layout of the store reflects the arrangement of Japanese tatami mats, and the layered bookshelves are influenced by the machiya, Japanese traditional wooden townhouses, which feature latticework and layers of sliding doors. The walkway that guides customers around the store, previously a duller black slate, is now a brighter granite that has the feel of ink splashes on paper. Overall, the feel is cosy rather than cramped."