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Clients' Press Releases
Bangalore, April 1, 2009
Online bookstore has a catalogue of 12 million+ titles and 25 million+ books; projects sales of INR 50 crores by 2011; expects "free international shipping" to be a big hit with consumers
Book lovers and bibliophiles rejoice! Titles and books out of your reach is now yours, a single click away. N. R. Narayanamurthy, Chairman of the Board & Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies and an avid book lover himself, today formally launched pustak.co.in - India's largest online bookstore with a catalogue of over 12 million titles and 25 million books. He also did the symbolical first transaction placing an order for a book he has been looking forward to read. Bangalore-based Kumar Pustak Mall Pvt. Ltd., promoted by internet and e-commerce business veterans is behind the new venture which the founders hope will not only give a fillip to e-commerce but fulfil the gap arising out of many of the titles being currently out of reach. To enthuse consumers, the company is offering "Free International Shipping", which incidentally is among the key challenges that hinder buying of such titles.
At the launch, N R Narayanamurthy said, "Reading, good conversations & listening to good music go a long way in value education of a person. My father inculcated me reading very early and I can say that it has kept me in good stead and I have passed on the same to my children. I am sure Pustak.co.in will be able to cater to the voracious readers of the country helping them get books at their doorstep."
According to Anand Rao, Founder & CEO, Pustak.co.in, "Much against popular perception, Indian consumers still don't have enough choice of books literally. Pustak is an attempt by us to bring and make available titles which otherwise were out of the reach of those who need it. With over 1.2 crore book titles under 32 categories as diverse as education, law, medicine, finance, arts and scientific research in a single database, it just cannot get bigger. We keenly look forward to serving the needs of customers and book lovers across India."
In his remarks, Bharat Vijay, Chief Advisor, Pustak.co.in, said, "Imported books constitute 30% of the over Rs.5000 crores Indian market for books. The over Rs. 5000 crores Indian book market is continuing to grow at 30% annually with Indian languages growing at a staggering 70% and even the English segment still growing at 30%. Though our initial target initially is the imported books market over time we would be looking at promoting local titles as well."
According to K Vijaya Raghavan, Mentor, Pustak.co.in, said, "Internet provides the best platform to make books accessible in the most cost effective and efficient manner to millions of book lovers. The recent developments on the internet front where its usage has expanded beyond metros to tier II and tier III cities and the rising internet penetration levels with numbers touching 100 million by 2012, only reiterating its choice as the best medium for a business model like Pustak.co.in."
In his comments, S N Kumar, Director, Pustak.co.in, said, "The internet user as a category is largely educated and presents the ideal audience for marketing of books. For example 86% of the user base is educated with a Bachelors or Masters degree. Also over 50% of online shoppers are at an executive level while 26% of them are senior professionals or are self-employee indicating assured spending power. We believe this segment of shoppers has great potential to change India's e-commerce space and particularly the book category."
Kumar Pustak Mall Pvt. Ltd., the company behind Pustak.co.in, looks to cater to all book lovers with varied interests. It has invested in technology and best practices to ensure convenience, safety of transactions and assured, quick delivery. The venture is projecting sales of INR 50 crores over the next 2-3 years and has since notched up sales of over INR 50 lakhs in the pilot phase itself.