Ho Chi Minh City Book Street earns nearly 29 billion VND in the first 6 months of 2024

In the first 6 months of 2024, the total revenue of stalls at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street reached more than 28.87 billion VND, down 10.4% over the same period in 2023.

That is the figure just announced by Ho Chi Minh City Book Street. Accordingly, of the total revenue of more than 28.87 billion VND, revenue from direct retail at booths accounts for 57%, online retail accounts for 21%, the remaining 22% is wholesale. Revenue from the cafe area accounts for 8%, revenue from publications, stationery, souvenirs... accounts for 92%.

The total number of books sold in the first 6 months of the year reached 340,321, down 25.3% compared to the same period in 2023. The number of new titles was 1,911.

Considering the children's book segment alone, revenue in the first 6 months of 2024 was about 4.56 billion VND, accounting for 15.8% of total revenue. The number of children's books in the first 6 months of 2024 reached 72,633 books (accounting for 21% of total books sold), a sharp decrease compared to 2023 (down 37%).

However, the revenue from children's books was not significantly different from the same period (down 1%). This can be explained by the fact that in 2023, units increased the promotion of discounts and deep discounts, especially in the children's book segment; units grasped the psychology of parents' willingness to shop for their children (not only books but also many other types of entertainment and tourism ) after a long period of being "held back" due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

If in 2023, Ho Chi Minh City Book Street had a sudden growth in both revenue and number of books; all booths had increased revenue compared to 2022 (an average increase of more than 50%), then in the first 6 months of 2024, 12/21 units had a sharp decrease in revenue (an average decrease of more than 26%).

In the first 6 months of 2024, there were 153 activities at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, including 146 event programs and 7 periodic interactive playgrounds. In addition to activities serving the city's political and cultural tasks, the Book Street still maintains a place to organize exchanges with authors and introduce new works with high frequency.

Units with booths at the book street and other partners have no longer simply organized book introductions but have added new experiences for readers, such as painting, storytelling contests, book cover drawing, notebook making, key chain making, science playgrounds, math, physics and chemistry experiments, first aid skills, waste classification, etc.

It is expected that in the last 6 months of 2024, Ho Chi Minh City Book Street will continue to face difficulties and challenges. Therefore, it requires units to not only invest in the quality of publications but also invest in diverse reading forms in accordance with the criteria of digital transformation in publishing, organize many activities to introduce publications, new projects, and sales channels that require diversity, flexibility and speed.

Along with that, the book street and the accompanying units organize activities, increase connectivity between local units, and jointly organize many large-scale programs with high information content, aesthetics and modernity to attract the public in the coming time.

QUYNH YEN