India Book Distributors: trending with the times!

Allwyn Pais, Business Development Manager, India Book Distributors (IBD) has 36 years in the book industry. Here, he shares more about the current book distribution market in India.

“Distributor is a link between publishers and booksellers. Publishers can’t reach every bookseller and that role is fulfilled by the hard working distributor. We supply books to individual bookstores, malls, airports, Chain stores, online sellers and many more,” shares Allwyn.

Book distribution landscape…

“Even though the book distribution market has grown, but due to low margins, many distributors had to close. Nevertheless, IBD’s passion for books has only helped to serve the booksellers who are at every nook and corner of the country. As book distributors, we try to satisfy every customer however far the bookshop may be located,” he says.

On relationship with publishers…

“We at IBD put all our efforts to ensure smooth relationship with publishers. Our prime motive is to make payment on time and we are known for that. We do not compromise on quality and that is the reason we have to be very particular while selecting the publishers,” he shares.

“We are lucky to have great publishers like Penguin Random House, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Pan Macmillan, Bloomsbury, Manjul, Scholastic etc. Harper Collins supplies us in Hyderabad. All have incredible list of books and that is what matters,” adds Allwyn.

On genres…

“We at IBD have practically all genres of books. We distribute Fiction, Non fiction, Management, Self help, Religion and Philosophy, Cookery, Graphic novels, Children…you name it and we have it,” he says.

On distribution network in India…

“Our network is very strong hence we are considered as prime distributor in the country. We have branches at Delhi in North; Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore in South; Kolkata in East and Mumbai, Pune in West. We also have our presence on Amazon, Flipkart and other market place. So directly or indirectly we cover the entire country,” shares Allwyn.

“Books to our local customers are delivered within 24 hours. For outstation customers, we use courier, angadia, transport companies which cater to small town and villages. Our sales executives travel to different locations, collect orders and ensure they are delivered in shortest available time,” he adds.

On technology embracement…

“IBD invests lot of money on technology. We are in the forefront in this field and do not compromise on quality of work. Our inventory is very strong. We always ensure that we stock 90 to 95% of the books required by our customers. We are well equipped to process local orders in a day’s time and outstation orders reach within two days to a week depending on the distance from our branch. Our tracking system is excellent. Since our core business is distribution, we ensure service is maintained at optimum level,” shares Allwyn.

Challenges faced…

“There are many challenges but we accept them with a smile. Since we are in the book industry by choice, we do not consider these challenges as a problem. At any given time we need to have good stock. The biggest problem is returns coming from booksellers and delayed payments from some customers. Luckily we have helpful publishers and good customers who are always supportive. This allows us to accept whatever challenges we have with a smile,” replies Allwyn.

On changing trends…

“For the past 36 years, I have always seen trends changing. There was a time when Feng shui and Reiki books were selling like hot cakes. Then self help books, then we had Religion and Philosophy books doing well. So there is nothing in particular that we can focus on. But one thing is common, Children books always sold well and is still selling well. Because of children books, we have seen children as well as parents entering the book shop. Book distribution is like survival of the fittest and that is how IBD has survived,” concludes Allwyn.