Shveta Pathak chats up Sandeep Dutt, the man behind the Book Café outlets

When he opened a coffee shop inside his English Book Depot (EBD) in Dehra Dun in 2002, little did Sandeep Dutt realise that he was pioneering the concept of co-location in book trading. Today Dutt, the chief promoter and CEO of EBD Book Cafe, has opened 20 outlets of Book Cafe in various parts of North India in a span of 20 months.

In an interview during his recent visit to Ludhiana, he spoke about his company and the readership market. Excerpts:

It’s a new concept, where a book outlet and a coffee shop share the same location. Having coffee while you read, is something the book trading industry had not explored. This has given us a new client base. The Book Cafe is visited not only by those keen on books but also by those interested in having coffee and snacks at the coffee shop, which is our partner.

In the co-location concept, both shops maintain
separate identities.

Reading is a leisure-time activity, undertaken by most people between 7 pm and 10 pm. Realising this, I
strongly felt that our outlet, the EBD in Dehra Dun, should be open till 10 pm. To be allowed to keep the bookshop open till late hours, I decided to open a coffee shop inside. We tied up with Barista and the results were tremendous.

Within six months, our sales jumped by 200 per cent. Barista got an equally good response. Today all outlets of Book Cafe are open from 10 am to 11 pm, seven days a week. Officially, the first Book Café was opened in Ludhiana in February, 2003.

Multi-branding, which means promoting books from different publishers, is a successful concept too.

The fact is that the market for books remains hugely untapped. Be it Ludhiana or any other place, one can get a diverse range of readers. Those already in this business or planning to get into it, need to realise the need for inculcating the habit of reading among people. Like every business, the aim should not be to provide more to the existing customers but also to create more customers.

My grandfather opened the first EBD in 1923 in Ferozepore. He was joined by my father and after opening 31 EBDs, we shifted to Dehra Dun in 1965.

Today we are into book trading as well as publishing. I have been involved in this business for the last 25 years.

We pursue our mission by offering a superior shopping experience through extended timings for all seven days in a week, a wide variety of books and an ambience that offers comfort.

For instance, an important segment of the customers, 15 to 40-year-olds, finds it difficult to get good books and a place to spend their spare hours.

Book Cafe is certain that it can offer an excellent experience to this segment. Research shows that coffee bars are a fast-growing business sector and are favoured not only by youngsters looking for clean fun but also by book lovers. Everything at Book Café — from people who work with us to the layout — has to be customer friendly.

Besides having more outlets in the country, we plan to go overseas too.