Kinokuniya Bookstore x Culture Convenience Club x Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Establish "Booksellers & Company, Inc." to Realize Bookstore-Led Publishing Distribution Reform

2023.10.02 Press Releases
Booksellers & Company Ltd. / Kinokuniya Bookstore Ltd. / Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. / Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Co., Ltd.

Kinokuniya Bookstore Co., Ltd. (Representative Director, Chairman and President: Takai Masashi, hereinafter referred to as "Kinokuniya Bookstore"), Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. (Representative Director, President and COO: Takahashi Yoshinori, hereinafter referred to as "CCC"), and Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Co., Ltd. (Representative Director, President and CEO: Okumura Keiji, hereinafter referred to as "Nippan") established a joint venture company, Booksellers & Company, Ltd. (Representative Director, President and CEO: Miyagi Tsunetaka), on October 2, 2023, with the aim of realizing bookstore-led publishing distribution reform.

New Company Profile

会社名：        株式会社ブックセラーズ＆カンパニー（英文商号　BOOKSELLERS & CO.）

設立日：        2023年10月2日
本店所在地：    東京都新宿区新宿三丁目17番7号
オフィス：        東京都品川区上大崎2－15－19　ビジネスエアポート目黒
資本金：         5,000万円（資本準備金5,000万円）
出資比率：        紀伊國屋書店40%、CCC30%、日販30%
経営体制：    3社から人員を派遣して新会社の経営にあたります。

The thoughts behind the company name

The company name is a combination of the plural form of the English word "BOOKSELLER," which means a bookstore or someone who sells books, and "company (CO.)," which means a colleague. The company name reflects the desire of the three companies to move forward together with all stakeholders, including readers, publishers, distributors, authors and translators, creators, and bookstores across the country, including the three companies.

Philosophy and Mission

By creating a sustainable publishing distribution cycle that allows publishers to continue delivering a wide variety of publications to readers across the country through bookstores, we will contribute not only to the growth of the publishing industry but also to the development of Japanese culture and society.

Bookstores will continue to exist in towns, and with their own hands, they will carve out a rich future in which more people will develop reading habits and continue to have contact with "knowledge" and "culture" through books.

Business details

(1)    書店と出版社が販売・返品をコミットしながら仕入数を決定する、新たな直仕入スキームを実現するための書店－出版社間の直接取引契約の締結を目指し、参画書店の代表として各出版社様と交渉を行います。

(2)    直接取引契約を締結した出版社様の商品に関する、参画書店の仕入業務を新会社に集約します。By utilizing the systems and infrastructure owned by the three companies, as well as individual product sales data and the know-how of bookstore staff, we will achieve appropriate purchasing that minimizes lost sales opportunities and timely, appropriate volume, and environmentally friendly distribution.

(3)    書店での購入者の拡大や購入数の増加を目指し、参画書店が共同実施する販売促進の企画や、共通アプリなども視野に入れた書店横断型のサービスを実現させて、読者の利便性向上に繋げていきます。

Upcoming Schedule

Further details will be provided to publishers and other interested parties at information sessions and other events starting in October. Additionally, we plan to hold a separate event for bookstores in the spring of 2024 to explain the scheme details and the common app.

Message from the President (Booksellers & Company, Inc. President and CEO, Taketaka Miyagi)

The power of books is timeless and universal, and there is a saying that "through reading, one can make friends with the past and the present and transcend East and West."

We believe that the purpose of bookstores lies in delivering a wide variety of publications, cultural and academic information, both in Japan and around the world, to readers throughout the country.

By continuing these activities, we at Booksellers hope to provide people with opportunities for learning, inspiration, and interaction, and to help solve social issues, promote scholarship and the arts, and help realize richer everyday lives. Starting from this idea, we aim to create a sustainable publishing distribution cycle.

Reference material: Representative Director's profile

Representative Director and Chairman Masashi Takai
Born in Tokyo on August 30, 1947.
Graduated from the Faculty of Law, Seikei University in 1970.
Joined Kinokuniya Bookstore in 1971. After serving as a sales manager in various locations, he became a director in 1993 and a managing director in 1999.
He became executive vice president in 2004, president and representative director in 2008, and has also served as chairman since 2015.

President and CEO: Yoshitaka Miyagi
Born in Tokyo on May 4, 1977.
Graduated from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University in 2000.
Joined Kinokuniya Bookstore in 2000. Assigned to Shinjuku Main Branch
Since 2005, he has been seconded to an overseas corporation. After working in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur store), the United States (New York headquarters), and Australia (area manager), he returned to Japan in 2017. Works in the store sales promotion department.
December 2022: Appointed as head of the newly established Business Strategy Office.

Materials related to this matter

Kinokuniya Bookstore x Culture Convenience Club x Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Establish "Booksellers & Company, Inc." to Realize Bookstore-Led Publishing Distribution Reform

Inquiries regarding this matter
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. Public Relations Office / inquiry@ccc.co.jp