TSUTAYA books and magazines total annual sales of 137.6 billion yen in 2021

2022.03.30 Press Releases
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. / Tsutaya Bookstore Company

"Eliminating towns without bookstores" - an initiative aiming for a society where diverse publications continue to reach every corner of the country -

Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. Tsutaya Bookstore Company (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo / President and CEO: Tomohiro Umetani / hereinafter referred to as TSUTAYA) is pleased to announce that domestic book and magazine sales from January to December 2021 reached 137.6 billion yen (96% of sales from the previous year).

The main negative factors are the backlash in comic book sales due to the explosive success of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" (author: Gotouge Koyoharu/publisher: Shueisha) in 2020, and the decline in magazine sales, which has also seen a large decline in the market.

At the same time, under the slogan "Eliminate towns without bookstores," we are working to reform publishing distribution and create optimal profits for the publishing industry as a whole, as we continue to move toward a society in which a variety of publications continue to reach all parts of the country.

■ New store openings and strengthening of store openings by new member companies
From January to December 2021, a total of 38 new stores (excluding overseas stores) were created through new openings and new member affiliations of TSUTAYA bookstores.

Futaba Books, a long-established bookstore founded in 1913 and mainly operating in Hiroshima Prefecture, has become a new member of TBN (※1). By leveraging the bookstore management know-how, abundant human resources, and relationships of trust with customers that Futaba Books has cultivated over many years, and combining this with CCC's unique database marketing, planning capabilities, and intellectual capital, we are working to create stores with a strong sense of proposals.

Furthermore, we have welcomed Meitetsu Department Store Co., Ltd. as a new member from a different industry, and have opened "TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Meitetsu Nagoya" on the 8th floor of the Meitetsu Department Store Main Building, which features the first "SHARE LOUNGE" in the Tokai region. In addition to the customers who have always used Meitetsu Department Store, we have also been attracting new customers who have patronized us.

(※1) TBN (TSUTAYA BOOK NETWORK): A general term for the network of franchises within the "TSUTAYA" and "Tsutaya Bookstore" store chains, primarily selling books and magazines.

■ Organizing the "Next Generation Author Literary Award" and strengthening original products
As a new initiative, we held the "Next Generation Writers Literary Award" for the first time as an unprecedented literary award that provides comprehensive support for writers, from their writing environment to nationwide sales, with the aim of "supporting the next generation of writers who will lead the book and manga industry in the future."This has resulted in the creation of four new writers, whose works will be available in TSUTAYA stores nationwide.

The two works that won the Grand Prize in the Light Novel Literature Division, "The Kabukicho Mouse Who Got Involved in a Teleportation" by Akira Tani and "The Newcomer is the Knight Commander! ~A veteran knight commander who escaped from desk work becomes an apprentice knight to start over from scratch~" by Sakuya Sakura, were released on Wednesday, March 16th by Earth Star Entertainment Co., Ltd.

In addition, we are strengthening our offering of TSUTAYA original products that can only be purchased at TSUTAYA and Tsutaya Bookstores. In 2021, we have particularly strengthened our selection of original comic goods. The company sells original comic goods based on various popular anime series, including "Jujutsu Kaisen," "Tokyo Revengers," and "The Quintessential Quintuplets," and annual sales of related products reached approximately 660 million yen. Through original comic goods, many customers are able to enjoy the world of the work on a deeper level.

■ Initiatives to reform publishing distribution and a new ordering system utilizing proprietary AI
Under the slogan "Eliminating towns without bookstores," TSUTAYA is opening bookstores across the country and creating stores that are rooted in local communities. In addition, as part of its "publishing distribution reform," the company aims to enable publishers to continue to publish a wide variety of publications in a shrinking market and to continue delivering these to many customers through bookstores.

To this end, we are continuing to work to reduce return rates and improve gross profit margins by implementing measures such as buying out magazines and books and streamlining ordering, so that all stakeholders in the publishing industry can generate optimal profits.

Publishers who support and cooperate with TSUTAYA's book purchase initiative account for more than 30% of book sales, and all companies are working together to improve gross profits for the future of the publishing industry.

In addition, for bookstore ordering, we will begin introducing our proprietary AI, which will predict demand for new book orders and automate optimal distribution of in-store inventory based on the potential demand for each store, to TBN member companies as a new ordering system during the first half of fiscal 2022.

This will reduce the number of returned books caused by over-ordering, while also enabling each store to offer an attractive selection of products that are in demand by local customers, leading to the creation of bookstores that are places where people can gather and connect.

Under the slogan "Eliminating towns without bookstores," TSUTAYA will continue to promote new store openings, collaboration with local bookstores, and new affiliations by creating optimal profits for the entire industry through "publishing distribution reform."

Furthermore, as a "place offering lifestyle suggestions" that allows more customers to enjoy their time at the bookstore, we will continue to create opportunities for customers to encounter high-quality works through our unique database marketing and planning capabilities, thereby contributing to the preservation of publishing culture.

Materials related to this matter

TSUTAYA books and magazines total annual sales in 2020: 137.6 billion yen

Inquiries regarding this matter
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. Public Relations Office Email: tsutaya_pr@ccc.co.jp