Taiwan Today

Eslite has become a major social trendsetter in by pioneering tasteful reading and reading-nurtured taste.

In March 1989, a small bookstore that specialized in arts and humanities opened its doors in downtown . It was named "Eslite," the medieval French form of "elite." Founder and president Wu Ching-yu had begun with a business selling kitchen equipment to hotels, but later reorganized it as a book enterprise. By the time the business moved to the present site on 's in 1995, the expanded bookstore had become the headquarters of an increasing number of Eslite shops that seek to foster an artistic, stylish dimension to bookselling around . Currently, there are more than 40 Eslite bookstores in northern, central and southern as well as one established in the eastern region's in 2007. There are also a couple of specialty Eslite stores solely devoted to music, children's books or stationery items. In recent years, as the enterprise has developed to include shopping complexes that house boutiques selling trendy designer goods, Eslite has garnered an average annual business volume of around NT$10 billion (US$303 million).

As something of a cultural showcase in , Eslite has found its way into many international lists of recommended tourist destinations, including a 2004 issue of Time magazine that selected Eslite's Dunhua store as a must-see in for its well-designed, hospitable space welcoming readers with soothing music--24 hours a day! Many tourists, particularly those from Hong Kong, Japan and mainland China, also visit Eslite's flagship eight-floor store, the chain's largest, which opened in the Xinyi District of eastern Taipei, the capital city's commercial hub. Liou Wei-gong, an associate professor of sociology at in , says that even today, with international travel becoming quite common for Taiwanese people, visitors still find Eslite a unique place with its own style and feeling.

As a Taiwanese brand grown from native soil, but with an international perspective, the business' management has been based on a passion for knowledge and a love of reading, according to Lee Yu-hwa, Eslite's public affairs manager. Indeed, in its early years there was something fresh and new about Eslite. Liou says the company was ahead of its time in by presenting a sense of taste and aesthetics as well as a unique attitude at a time when economic development was beginning to give a better life to local people, who had yet to learn how to really enjoy it. Also, it was a time when political democratization and cultural localization were challenging established cultural norms, giving rise to a surge of social transformation. "At that time, many intellectuals came back from their studies abroad and a wide range of Western cultural thought was introduced to ," Liou says. "There was something of an incongruous feel to society." The sociologist believes that the support of emerging middle classes with higher levels of education and artistic interests has contributed a lot to Eslite's success.

Success by Design

Each of Eslite's stores puts great emphasis on its interior design and dŽcor. The branch on the 17th floor of 's Far Eastern Department Store, for example, won the 's Design for Asia Award 2004. Overlooking harbor through large French windows, this store presents a spacious, open central area surrounded by progressively elevated sections that feature different categories of books, all under the same high, expansive ceiling.

Among Eslite's other notable architectural highlights, the Green Belt branch in Taichung features one of Asia's largest "living walls," which rises from basement level up five floors and was installed in collaboration with China Metal Products Co. Together with the nearby National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and National Museum of Natural Science, the branch store has become a major part of the cultural landscape of central Taiwan's biggest city. It recently won the award for Taiwan Real Estate Excellence 2009 from the chapter of the International Real Estate Federation for its design as a commercial building.

To some extent, each Eslite branch is unique in its theme and particular style due to the characteristics of its location as well as different readerships, among other factors. For example, the branch located in front of in , defined as a campus bookstore, must cater to two major needs. "Pricing is quite sensitive for students," says Lee Yu-hwa, "and there is a high academic expectation for the diversity and depth of the book selection, especially in the fields of literature, history and philosophy." Other Taipei Eslite stores that show this kind of specialization include one in the renovated historical building of the former consulate, now the venue for the Spot Taipei Film House, which concentrates on cinematic titles; and one located in the building that houses the National Theater, which inclines toward collections related to the theater.

In general, Eslite stores--most often fitted with varnished wooden floors, wide aisles, orderly bookshelves and warm lighting--offer a comfortable atmosphere for visitors to browse through books and, more often than not, sit down to read. This customer-friendly approach diverges from the traditional discouragement of a "free read," but it has built a model for the service industry sector that continues to expand and be refined in . For the convenience of readers who might not be very familiar with individual authors or publishing houses, Eslite introduces books from a wide range of themes such as feminism, cultural studies, studies or arts and literature, for example, grouped by countries. In addition to bestselling books and music albums that meet mainstream tastes, Eslite offers visitors a wide-ranging collection from market-oriented products to a variety of interesting, more obscure titles.

Complete Experience

"People come to Eslite not simply to buy books, but also to be immersed in an aura and a cultural environment," says Lee Hsin-ping, an author of several books on creativity and a major literary force behind a number of Eslite's promotional projects. Manager Lee Yu-hwa believes that interior arrangements such as dŽcor and book displays are a basic, "easy" part of a bookstore's management that requires only money and good designers. "The point is how our visitors and participants in our activities feel about our management style," Lee Yu-hwa says. "We seek not only to have attractive displays of books, but also to try to promote reading through related activities." Eslite provides space for reading clubs, lectures and artwork exhibitions as well as performing arts. These events bring people to Eslite stores and, more significantly, create a multi-layered cultural arena as a natural and meaningful extension of the act of reading or the pursuit of knowledge. This, Lee Yu-hwa notes, is the same underlying goal of the various Eslite activities, including the regular recommendations of books and the publication of the store's periodical The Reader.

As part of the events to mark Eslite's 20th anniversary, Michael Lin, one of the most noted Taiwanese names in international art and design sectors, was invited to create an installation that saw nearly 10,000 books in the arts section of the flagship Xinyi District store bear the artist's signature floral pattern. Visitors could choose books with their titles hidden among the brightly colored patterns of peony flowers and phoenixes of traditional Taiwanese textiles. At the same time, an exhibition of Lin's new works was held at the Eslite Gallery that had just moved to the fifth floor of the same store. Liou Wei-gong says that few major Taiwanese figures or groups in the fields of publishing, performing or visual arts lack a connection to Eslite. "They might have had the experience of being either sponsored or helped with promotion by Eslite or have presented their art at an Eslite venue," the professor says. "Eslite offers a significant stage or platform for 's cultural, creative activities and this builds a strong, profitable basis of added value."

Turning a Page

Indeed, Eslite's development into a leading cultural brand reflects in many ways the energy and dynamism of the freest and most democratic society in the Mandarin-speaking world. Lee Yu-hwa says that the round-the-clock operation model, a significant turning point for the Eslite business 10 years ago, has been supported by the great diversity of lifestyles and occupations in Taipei on the one hand, and is made possible by Taiwan's peaceful social conditions on the other. "For some foreigners I've hosted, a safe walk in the streets at three o'clock in the morning is almost like a miracle," she says. Being a place for the wide-awake to go in a sleeping city makes Eslite seem not only just a bookstore, but also a cool symbol of fashion.

Currently, Eslite is planning to open stores in mainland , most probably in its two biggest cities. " has a deeper cultural tradition and is more commercial," Lee Yu-hwa says. "In both contexts, Eslite has something to take advantage of based on our business experiences." Liou Wei-gong says that Eslite could also consider putting branches in other locations in Asia such as , and , given that similar stores are likely to emerge in those places anyway. The professor, who is also the author of The Lifestyle Society (2006) and The Magic Power of Style (2007) on the cultural economy and taste-oriented consumption, has been invited to give lectures in the Eslite Forum, for which people must pay a fee to attend. He points out that while Eslite was a major social trendsetter by pioneering tasteful reading and reading-nurtured taste, this strength is being diluted as the company faces increased competition in today's much more fashionable and design-conscious society. "Many people like me still enjoy roaming among the books at Eslite," he says, "but the store cannot always rely on the faithfulness of old customers." As Eslite moves toward a mixed model of bookselling and "lifestyle" shopping, the challenge is how to make the most of the existing value of an established brand to keep its competitive edge. "It's an opportunity, not a crisis though," Liou says.

Write to Pat Gao at kotsijin@gmail.com