消失的書街地圖
Brick and mortar bookstores branching out to survive
台北市重慶南路，被稱為書店街，因為這裡曾經有上百家書店，堪稱是華文圖書重要的匯集地。然而，近年來在經濟不景氣和網路書店崛起的雙重夾擊下，重慶南路的書店卻出現了倒店潮。究竟重慶南路書街，根本的問題出在哪兒？業者又有哪些轉型和因應之道呢?帶您來看看這集的專題 !
Taipei’s Chongqing South Road once had more than a hundred bookstores. It was an important place for Chinese language books, but a downturn in the local economy and the rise of online bookstores have put many of these booksellers out of business. To survive, the shops that remain are adding side businesses such as cafes or offering specialty books.
重慶南路上一家家知名的老字號書店 ,不是改做其他生意, 就是掛起出租招牌， 經營書店三十多年的沈榮裕, 看盡台北書街的繁華起落 , 昔日繁華書街, 為何紛紛吹起熄燈號?
Taipei’s Chongqing South Road is well-known for its bookstores, but many are now covered with for rent signs. Shen Jung-yu(沈榮裕)has been running a bookstore for 30 years and says he has seen the ups and downs on this once popular book street.
[[台北市重南書街促進會理事長沈榮裕]]
Shen Jung-yu / Book Street Association
“以前真的是我們是九點半就開了，現在是改成十點，以前差不多九點多的時候，就有一大堆客人在門口等著要進來，要掃地的時候要跟客人講說” 借過”，怕會影響到客人，現在開完門之後哪怕你整理工作半小時、一小時，也沒什麼人進來”
In the past we opened at 9:30 in the morning, and now we open at 10. Before, at about 9 in the morning there would be a big crowd waiting outside the door, and when I was sweeping, I would have to ask them to move. Now, after we open, it may be half an hour or an hour before a customer comes in.
為什麼重慶南路書街這幾年會起這麼大的變化? 上網訂書，再透過物流中心、宅配、或到超商取貨，這是近十年來蓬勃發展的網路書店，以這家全台灣最大型的網路書店為例，目前會員就有五百萬人，相當於台灣四分之一的人口。
Why are booksellers on Chongqing South Road seeing such a large decline in business? One of the biggest challenges has been the rise in online booksellers who offer home delivery or can send books to a local convenience store. In the past decade, this service has boomed, with the largest internet bookseller having about 5 million members, or nearly one-quarter of Taiwan’s population.
[[網路書店業者張靜如]]
Chang Ching-ru / Online Bookseller
“以網路書店來講，是透過某超商可以取貨，所以對讀者來說，它在取貨的便利度上面非常高，全台灣有超過四千多家的某超商，再來網路其實更具有二十四小時不打烊的書店特性，這樣的購物模式，其實滿符合及貼近目前所有消費者在生活習慣裡的需求”
Online bookstores cooperate with local convenience stores where people can pick up their orders. It’s really convenient. There are more than 4,000 convenience stores in Taiwan, and one can go online 24 hours a day to place an order because these sites never shut down. This type of service suits many of our consumers.
而網路書店還有一個吸引讀者的地方，就是折扣優惠。
Another attractive allure of online bookstores is discounts.
[[顧客郭育倫]]
Kuo Yu-lun / Book Buyer
“我也是實體書店大概看一下內容，還是會跑去網路上訂，因為比較有折扣”
I go to brick and mortar bookshops to look at the books, then return home and go online to make a purchase. This way you can get a discount.
[[圖書出版事業協會理事 李沛儒]]
Li Pei-ru / ROC Publishing Association
“它所以能夠賣那麼低，當然就是因為它賣得多，它的消費者多，消費者心裡面就認為書就是八折，書就是七折，我們希望實體書店存在，或者再多一點的情況底下，就要學習英國跟法國，就是書不准打折不准以價格來互相毀滅”
(Online booksellers) can sell at a cheaper price because they have more volume and more consumers. In fact, consumers believe that books should be 20 or 30 percent off. I want real bookstores to continue operating so I give them more support. I believe that we should learn from the United Kingdom and France, where books can’t be discounted, to prevent a price war.
網路書店強打折扣戰，讓實體書店也不得不跟進，這使得原本已經微薄的銷售利潤，獲利空間再往下降。不過，把所有的問題，都指向網路書店帶來的衝擊，不見得公平。
The steep discounts offered by online bookstores have put a strain on brick and mortar shops, giving them no choice but to follow suit. These discounts squeeze their already meager profits. But the problems traditional booksellers face can’t all be blamed on online retailers.
[[圖書出版事業協會理事 李沛儒]]
Li Pei-ru / ROC Publishing Association
"因為書是一個出版社，是一個統一商品，所以你在一條書街如果沒有特色，你一直成立同樣的東西，這合理嗎? 租金高的地方，它就會賣利潤高的東西，但是書的利潤是非常地有限，所以它沒辦法在重慶南路生存"
Books are printed by a single publisher and are basically a commodity. If you’re on a crowded book street it doesn’t make any sense to sell something that doesn’t stand out. In high rent locations, goods with higher profit margins are sold. Books have limited margins, so maybe they can no longer survive on Chongqing South Road.
由於重慶南路書街，大部分都是中小型書店，唯有個別找出特色或主動出擊，才能夠維繫生存。
Most of the bookstores on Chongqing South Road are small and medium-sized, making it difficult for them to differentiate themselves to ensure a better chance of survival.
[[書店店長吳建明]]
Wu Chien-ming / Bookstore Manager
“今年景氣大家應該都有感覺到，影響也滿大的，而且重慶南路這一條書店街來講，不像以往人潮那麼多，變成說用騎樓活動來帶動，不無小補，人家說多少賺一點”
This year we have felt a big impact from the economy. As for bookstores on Chongqing South Road, it’s not like the past when there were big crowds. Many shop owners are using the arcade in front of their store to earn a little more money. Everyone is trying to earn a little more money.
除了多角化經營，有的書店開始當起二房東，沈詠智是書街促進會理事長- 沈榮裕的兒子，幾個月前，加盟一家連鎖咖啡店，嘗試把咖啡香融進書香裡。
Some bookstores are even renting out part of their shop space to other businesses. Recently Shen Jung-yu's son joined a coffee shop chain, and the smell of coffee now penetrates the bookstore.
[[咖啡店店長沈詠智]]
Shen Yong-chih / Coffee Shop Manager
“這邊以前原本整間到底都是書店，主要想說試試看「複合式經營」，不然其實書店，買書的人也變比較少了，因為都是有互相(幫助)，像有時候太太要買書，結果先生不想看的話，他會進來咖啡廳坐一下，或是說他們有時候買完書，會過來這邊坐一下”
This area used to be part of the bookstore, but we thought we should pursue a hybrid business model. The number of people who come to buy books has declined, but I think this may help. For example, a woman might come to buy a book and if her husband isn’t interested, he can come here and take a rest. Or after buying a book they may want to rest here for a while.
[[顧客陳今郁]]
Chen Jin-yu / Customer
“就我而言，偶爾可以來洽公，然後有時間喝個咖啡，也有書可以看其實挺好的"
I occasionally come here to discuss business, and if I can have some coffee and look at a book it’s good.
不管怎麼變，對業者來說，本業還是賣書、要生存，就要找出具有市場區隔的特色。
No matter how much they change, the owners of these stores say they are still very much in the bookselling business. But to survive, it’s necessary for them to find the right market segment.
三年前，沈榮裕嗅到了商機，將書店全面轉型為「簡體字書」專賣店，目前業績穩定成長，一天有十萬以上的營業額。
Three years ago, Shen Jung-yu thought of a business idea. He transformed his bookstore to specialize in simplified Chinese character books. Since then his business has stabilized and he enjoys sales turnover of more than NT$100,000 a day.
[[台北市重南書街促進會理事長沈榮裕]]
Shen Jung-yu / Book Street Association
“後來我觀察我們的一些客人，幾乎都是退休的，我想這就是退休商機，這個是寂寞商機，這是老年人商機，這些人有錢有閒，消費力很強，很多年紀大的人，他們喜歡買的一大堆像兩蔣還有很多中國領導人的書，他們這些一系列人物傳記台灣這類書出得很少，所以中國簡體字的書為什麼某些部分會賣得很好，是因為中國彌補了台灣的空白”
I began to notice that our customers were almost all retired people. I thought that this would be a good business opportunity because these elderly people have money to spare and strong spending power. A lot of them like to buy biographies of Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Ching-kuo and other Chinese leaders. Taiwan publishes few of these books. This is why there are so many sales of books with simplified Chinese characters, as China is filling in this gap which Taiwan overlooked.
在重慶南路目前能繼續生存的書店，都有自己的客群，而實體書店對許多讀者而言，仍有它存在的魅力。
For some old customers, there is nothing like visiting traditional bookstores along Chongqing South Road.
[[顧客孫大川]]
Sun Ta-chuan / Customer
“我們是老一輩的人，還是習慣逛書店，變成是不是為了方便，是為了感覺那個感覺，很舒服、摸摸書，買一兩本，那個抓在手上跟看網路封面照片還是有很大的不一樣”
Going to bookstores is a habit for us older generations. We don’t care about convenience. We like the feeling of touching a book because it’s comforting and relaxing. After buying a couple books we can enjoy holding them in our hands. It’s much different than looking at photos of a book cover posted on the internet.
文章出處 http://englishnews.ftv.com.tw/read.aspx?sno=A1A5474FBCC525A0F1ADE8A2C8256590
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