Kolkata’s heritage bookstore goes digital & how

Almost every by-lane of College Street has a history of its own — about book lovers and their changing relationship with bookstores over the decades. And among the myriad bookstores in and around the street, Das Gupta and Co Pvt Ltd has witnessed this transition for more than 100 years now. One of the pioneers of standalone bookshops in the country, the store has now charted another first among its contemporaries — it has started its own e-commerce division in keeping with the times.And by doing so, it has taken a major step towards surviving in a market that’s fast shifting towards online trade.
This, however, didn’t happen out of the blue. The store, which had gone from strength to strength during the British colonial regime, the World Wars, the Naxalbari Movement and other political events that affected Kolkata, began to witness a fall in business with the emergence of major e-commerce portals. “Our store has witnessed history in the making. I’ve heard stories from my father and grandfather about changing political scenarios and how these changed reader preferences. But now, it has all boiled down to a battle for survival,” said Arabinda
Das Gupta, the store’s managing director, adding that it’s impossible for traditional businesses to survive among the big e-commerce portals and their aggressive business strategy of delivering books on customers’ doorsteps. “My daughter works for a multinational digital company. She advised me to take the step forward and venture into the digital world. Otherwise, we realised, it would be very difficult for us to survive and deliver our customers. We’ve created a website through which readers can buy books online directly from us.”
His daughter, Ria, told us that now, an online presence is a must. “As I work for a digital space, I know exactly what’s needed to have an online presence. This move was the need of the hour,” she added.
Losing the emotional touch
Arabinda, however, told us that he feels this new way of buying books will destroy the relationship between booksellers and buyers. “True, we’re venturing online but the relationship we share with our clients will certainly never be the same again,” he said, adding that the emotion behind going to a bookstore, browsing through the titles and finally buying one will soon be forgotten. “Nowadays, people don’t have time and the digital medium is helping them read more for free. Call me old school, but I still love buying books for the smell, feel and touch of a new title. I don’t think digital books can ever replicate that feeling,” he added.
He also dreads the day when bookstores will become redundant. “My life revolves around this store, but if everything goes digital, a day will soon come when I’ll have to sell books from home, sitting in front of a computer,” he said.
Business before and after
Whatever be Das Gupta’s emotional reaction to the transition, it has apparently augured well for the business. "We can’t compete with e-commerce giants who are selling books at very low rates, but our business has definitely undergone a positive change after going online,” Arabinda said, adding that the step has been a good one from a business point of view, as he has seen many bookstores going out of business in recent times.
Ria’s aim is to make the business truly global. “We already have buyers in the Northeast, Delhi, Bangladesh and the US. So, we are planning to expand the business in these areas,” she said, adding that their USP would be old manuscripts and rare collections of vernacular books. “The major players are already catering to the English readers, so we will target buyers looking for select obscure books,” she signed off.