Immerse yourself in the ocean of books!

Our family has been in the book trade for last several decades. My grandfather Late Shanti Prasad Jain laid the foundation of this business. His work has enjoyed unparalleled patronage from lawyers to government officials and judges to many more,” tells Manav Jain of Jain Book Depot.

“Our flagship store “Jain Book Depot” which is located in the heart of city, Connaught Place, New Delhi, was started in 2005 after completion of my MBA. I took it as a challenge to start a book showroom that could house thousands of books across varied streams. By God’s grace, our vision and hard work paid off. Today, Jain Book Depot, has more than fifty thousand titles on display, making it one of the largest bookstores in Delhi-NCR. Whether you are an architect, designer, a doctor or an engineer, a manager or a chartered accountant, an economist or a civil servant, there’s a treasure of books to please your mind and soul. Even if you are not an avid reader, you are sure to immerse yourself in the ocean of books this place has to offer,” he adds.

What attracts the readers?

“As is rightly said “Books are priceless…they are your best friend, your sole companion, they have the power to heal your heart & soul.” Ask any book lover and he or she will let you know certain books have left an indelible mark on their life. Self-help and motivation books are a life saviour in today’s uncertain and competitive times. Customers here spend hours leisurely browsing through the colossal variety of books which our store offers,” tells Manav.

“Popular genres at our store are Law, Fiction, Management, Medicine, Engineering, Competition & Motivation,” he adds. “We only stock English and Hindi language books. We are having a good stock of books in Hindi by various famous authors. We also have a good collection of Hindi Mythological books, besides dictionaries for various languages as well as ‘easy to learn’ other language books for both vernacular and international languages.”

“We are associated with all big publishing houses such as Oxford University Press, Penguin Random House India, HarperCollins, McGraw-Hill Education, etc directly or through their distribution partner. In addition, we keep stock of hundreds of medium and small publishers. With a robust supply chain, we ensure that our customers have the widest range of titles to select from,” he adds.

On changes in the industry…

“As everyone knows, every industry changes, so does our book industry. From titles to customer behaviour, from book store to online sales, there are a lot of changes we faced. But as an entrepreneur, one should not only foresee the challenges but also face and overcome them as the circumstances demand. We have also launched our website www.jainbookdepot.com where customers can browse through the ocean of books and make the purchase. We directly deliver the books to their mentioned delivery address across the globe. Not only that we keep ourselves well stocked with the latest and bestseller titles, we always make sure that we arrange the desired books for our valuable customers,” tells Manav.

Our USP…

“During the course of time, we have learnt to have a friendly approach towards our customers. Only then one can understand the need of the customers and delight them. There’s a mantra I always keep in mind “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” by Bill Gates. So, we always have a friendly and positive attitude towards our customers. We go to great lengths to arrange the desired books for our customers. Our customers are assured of our books once we commit to them, so that’s a big satisfaction to our customers,” tells Manav.

On Nabhi Publications…

“Our home publication, Nabhi Publications, an integral part of our success story, was founded by my father Nabhi Kumar Jain in the year 1967. The first book published by us was Income Tax guidelines and Mini Ready Reckoner. The book proved to be a phenomenal success. This success fuelled our spectacular half a century journey which has been several bestselling titles on law, taxation, construction, government employees etc.,” he shares.

Impact of Covid-19

“In Corona times, our business has suffered a lot. The footfall has reduced as people are confined to their homes and also as other commercial establishments/ offices remain shut. The printing units are also closed. Hence, it’s a bad situation for both our vendors and customers. Online sales are happening but business is nominal as compared to normal days. We sincerely hope that this crisis soon gets over and life returns to normal for everyone,” tells Manav.

“Everyone is facing liquidity crunch. With deliveries getting hit, the stocks are lying idle. Our channel partners are finding it difficult to make timely payments. On the other hand, we need to pay salaries to our staff and to make payments to our vendors. The demand is there but supply constraints are also being faced. Overall, it is a difficult time for us but with God’s Grace we shall tide over and once again see people moving out,” he adds.

On competition from ecommerce portals…

“Online buying can never give the pleasure of physically going through the contents and making a selection. A bookstore is like a paradise for book lovers where they can treat themselves to the rich, diverse and myriad flavours of writings of illustrious men and women who have squeezed their learning and experience of lifetime in their books. In changed circumstances, though online sales have seen a surge, but bookshops will always have their charm,” he adds.

On a concluding note…

“I would like to sign off on a positive note believing that “Together we can and together we will win” over these difficult times. Instead of complaining, let us all invest this time in acquiring more knowledge and learning. The most productive way of spending time indoors is by treating yourself to unexplored subjects and genre of books. You will soon be running out of time to explore the vast ocean of knowledge and stories that books offer,” concludes Manav.