Investigation on Whether the "New Type" Bookstore Model Can Realize the Renaissance of Physical Bookstores

Since the economic globalization was proposed in the 1980s, the links between the world have become more and more close, followed by cultural globalization. With the emergence of the digital economy, people's lifestyles have also changed. At the same time, post-modern consumerism centered on aesthetic and symbolic consumption began to emerge. The paper is divided into five parts to explore whether the physical bookstore can achieve revival. The first section includes research on post-modern consumerism to illustrate its core, chaeacteristics and audience. Under the premise of this, do general research has been done on Fangsuo Commune Bookstore as a representative of the "new type" bookstore, and in-depth analysis of Fangsuo Commune in Taikoo Li Chengdu has been made. In the end, based on the comparison between Fangsuo Commune and other physical bookstores, it is possible that the "new type" bookstore model can realize the revival of physical bookstores.


Three characteristics of symbolic consumption
Brand as a carrier. Brand is the carrier of commodity symbolization, which helps the symbolic value of goods to be recognized and realized, and replaces the physical object into the object of consumption. As Professor Zhao Yiheng, a representative of the national semiotics, said, "Buy something is to buy it differently. Brands can reflect the wealth, status and taste of the buyer." 4 Personal differences. In order to find and determine their status in society, people need to define themselves and discover differences. "Differential" has also become the goal of most people to pursue symbolic consumption. People use symbolic consumption to show their unique personality and distinguish themselves from others. This phenomenon can be seen everywhere in real life. For example, a large number of limited edition items and special items have emerged to meet the psychological requirements of people seeking differences.
Value symbolism: The third significant characteristic of symbolic consumption is the symbolic meaning of the symbol, not the practical value of the commodity itself.
Symbol consumers are no longer concerned with practicality when they purchase goods, they value brands more. As a cultural symbol, the brand's cultural symbolic meaning has become the starting point and consumer object of symbolic consumer purchase.

Three audiences of symbolic consumption 5
New rich class. They are at the top of symbolic consumption, luxury brands have penetrated into their lives and have become their regular consumption. In addition to pursuing luxury brands, they will pursue a culture-centered brand, in order to reflect their personal identity and demonstrate their social status. Therefore, with the aim of brand culture, they set up a "new type" bookstore model that is different from traditional bookstores, linking the bookstore culture with business.
Middle class. As the main force of consumption, the middle class consumes wellknown brands in various fields such as clothing, and occasionally buys luxury brands in certain fields. At the same time, in order to show their own quality of life, successful career and the realization of social status, they will also go to the store with cultural identity, and the "new type" bookstore just meets their needs.
Literary and artistic youth. Most of the literary and artist youth are students or young people with average salary levels, at the low end of symbolic consumption. Unlike the young groups that are characterized by advanced consumption and excessive consumption, especially the fanatical pursuit of famous brands, the literary youth are more concerned with the personal taste and value through the culturally-oriented goods.
As a cultural industry, physical bookstores have been regarded as a means of disseminating and acquiring knowledge for a long time. However, with the advent of post-modern consumerism, people's pursuit of quality of life has gradually increased, and self-awareness has become increasingly prominent. Physical bookstores have been deconstructed and reconstructed in the impact of urban rents, online bookstores and the game of culture and economy.
Traditional physical bookstores have been unable to interpret the functions and roles in modern society. Therefore, bookstores have gradually evolved into a cultural complex with multiple meanings under the influence of globalization forces, and Fangsuo Culture Bookstore is such a cultural complex.

Opening time
From the first Guangzhou Fangsuo store to the opening of the second Chengdu store, there was a full three years. From 2015 to 2016, there were three branches opened in just one year. This reflects the fact that the store has gradually entered the physical bookstore market for three years and finally adapted to the market, and has achieved contrarian expansion.
At the same time, from the data report Fangsuo exposed, it also indicated that after the opening of the Guangzhou store, deducting non-book income, the bookstore performance reached at least 1.5 million yuan per month. Three years later, the performance of the company has far exceeded this figure, and it has achieved profitability in two years, and contributed 10% of the passenger flow to the Taikoo Huishang District where the Guangzhou store is located.

Bookstore location 7
As can be seen from the location of the city where the four stores are located, all stores are located in the most luxurious business district of the city. This is also in line with the corporate culture of the club -creating the local cultural landmarks. "I hope it is a space that can change the way of life in the city." Mao Jihong, founder of the Fangsuo, said, "In the past, the downtown business district was about consumption. Leisure and shopping are important components of urban lifestyle. We put books, Cultural exhibitions and art events in this place. If you are leisurely shopping, you can also develop the habit of watching exhibitions, reading good books, and admiring art. This is the wish of our desired aesthetic education. It will make everyone's lifestyle richer."  When talking about why he chose to open a bookstore in Qingdao, Mao Jihong said that this is a "coincidence". "I often come to Qingdao, there are some friends here, the city is also very beautiful and clean. In the Chinese cities, Qingdao is a very cuttingedge place. On the other hand, I also want to try to cooperate with domestic developers.
Vientiane City also has certain ambitions in culture. In short, I believe in the partners and this city, so we are here."   This shows that the business district invested by Swire Properties is undoubtedly profitable, and it is also wise to open a store in such a business district.     holds two exhibitions on average every month. A membership card can watch them for free.

Figure 10: Exhibition Zone of Chengdu Fangsuo Commune
Coffee Zone: special coffee, selected American, South American, African, Asian coffee beans constitute a map of the world of taste. All coffee hand-washed to preserve the most authentic taste of coffee. weekdays was about seven or eight thousand, and the number of holidays was up to 20,000. In Chengdu Fangsuo Commune, the book has accounted for half of the turnover.
In addition to books, all kinds of goods, coffee, and artists' exhibitions have become the turnover of the store.
"Chengdu Fangsuo Commune has been able to achieve breakeven." Mao Jihong, founder of Fangsuo Commune said. 16 In the second year of Chengdu's opening, Fangsuo Commune has entered the commercial benign cycle as a physical bookstore industry that many people seem to be at risk.

Figure 12: Storefront of SISYPHE Bookstore
The picture below is the route guide of the SISYPHE Bookstore. Even if the customer is visiting the bookstore for the first time, it will be as easy as shopping in H&M for you to find a book that suits you. From the door to the shelf, you are on the psychological line of the well-designed layout by Jin Weizhu, the founder of SISYPHE Bookstore. There is a shopping route at your feet that guides you to find the book you want. Every region will have a lead to guide you, and even the transition between regions is not unobtrusive. To take care of your understanding, here is a complete book classification method. By gaining insight into consumer psychology and designing readers' needs, SISYPHE bookstores have achieved a fast fashion level. 17 Different positioning: Unlike Fangsuo Commune as a "cultural landmark", the SISYPHE Bookstore is positioned as a mass boutique book. The "boutique" does not mean a high-ranking book, but is the one that finds the best reading for this group of people in each section.

Different audiences:
The audience of SISYPHE Bookstore is also completely different from Fangsuo Commune, which is the literary youth or urban reading elite. The target group of the SISYPHE Bookstore is "People who don't usually read books." It does a "transformation" business -converting people who are not reading into scholars.

Different numbers:
Contrary to the Fangsuo Commune that there are only four stores in the country, as of October 2018, the SISYPHE Bookstore has grown to have more than 160 book retail stores and more than 160 Italian cafés in nearly 60 cities across the country. A chain culture company with more than 3.5 million active members. The SISYPHE Bookstore wins by number and is mainly concentrated in the second and third tier cities.
The same decoration concept: Fangsuo and SISYPHE Bookstore have spent a lot of time on the decoration design of the store in order to attract customers. Although the brand culture concept is different and the decoration style is different, the concept of increasing passenger flow is consistent. Lit Fest" and "Telling Tales at The Globe" amongst others. "We will distribute bookstore coupons for children at the event, which will attract them to visit the Moon Lane Bookstore", says Tamara, who admits that coupons are also one of the ways to get readers' attention at low cost. 19 To explore whether the physical bookstore can be revived, the most important thing is whether the physical bookstore can achieve profitability and go on in the long run. The profitability of a store depends largely on the traffic of this store. Unlike the traditional physical bookstore, the birth of the "New Type" bookstore model has led more and more people to enter the bookstore.

Tales on Moon Lane 18
From the perspective of the three bookstores of Fangsuo Commune, SISYPHE Bookstore and Tales on Moon Lane, there are three ways to increase traffic: Open the bookstore in a shopping mall or core business district. Access to the business district's own traffic, such as Fangsuo Commune and SISYPHE Bookstore, are almost within the city's core business district.
Get traffic through active operations. For example, celebrity speeches, writers' signings, or art exhibitions, such as those events held at Fangsuo Commune and Tales on Moon Lane every year to attract customers.

Make a large store size and expand the space volume. The British Booksellers
Association has also mentioned that window display is the most powerful marketing tool for bookstore marketing activities, and it can convey the ideas and basic ideas of the bookstore owner. For example, the Fangshang Commune store covers an area of 4,000 square meters and is nine meters high. The SISYPHE Bookstore also uses the exquisite store design to attract customers into the store. Because the budget is not large, Tales on Moon Lane will also put more energy into the store window display. Therefore, the "New Type" bookstore model can achieve commercial success in a short period of time, which must be that it breaks a small group of people targeted by traditional bookstores and covers a larger audience. By building core existing customers into their core strategies and cultivating and transforming potential customers, the traffic community can also contribute to a steady stream of consumption. The "new type" bookstore model has a huge space for future development and is also of positive significance for realizing the revitalization of physical bookstores.