Nidhi Gupta, Director of Crossword Bookstores opens up about the brand’s changes following the acquisition, current priorities, upcoming launches, and expansion plans
Bengaluru: No matter how far technology advances in the reading world—from Kindle e-books and Audible audiobooks to digital libraries and augmented reality (AR) books that infuse animations, and sounds into the pages—nothing can replicate the scent of a freshly printed book or the cherished experience of browsing and reading in a cozy bookstore café.
Crossword Bookstores is dedicated to providing exactly that.
The homegrown book retail chain was founded in 1992 under the leadership of R Sriram, who identified underserved niches in the book retail industry. After opening its first store in Kemps Corner, Mumbai, the company underwent several acquisitions, facing peaks and valleys.
In 2005, the department store giant Shoppers Stop acquired Crossword from India Book House Ltd., one of the brand’s earliest investors. In 2021, the company was sold to its current owner Agarwal Business House (ABH).
Under ABH’s leadership, the once struggling venture, grappling with e-commerce competition and the pandemic, rediscovered its core focus—books. With a renewed emphasis on staying attuned to social media trends and closely watching consumer behaviour, Crossword found its footing once more.
Now headquartered in Pune, the book retailer operates over 120 outlets across 40 cities, a notable increase from the 70 stores it had at the time of the 2021 acquisition.
In an exclusive interaction with IndiaRetailing, Nidhi Gupta, Director of Crossword Bookstores opens up about the brand’s changes following the acquisition, current priorities, marketing initiatives, and expansion plans, among other topics.
Edited excerpts…
How was the company at the time of acquisition, and how has it evolved since?
When we acquired the company, the ABH Group was running about 30 to 35 stores, while Crossword and Shoppers Stop had about 25 stores. The company experienced ups and downs, with experimentation across various categories, and books had taken a backseat.
Since then, the focus has shifted back to books, making them the core of the business, as that’s what crossword stands for. We have curated collections to offer the best for readers. The retail experience has also been revamped to bring back the joy of physical bookstores, with a merchandise mix that complements books, including stationery, gifting, and toys, all catering to book lovers.
Has there been any change in the store interior since then?
Yes, there have definitely been changes. We have focused on creating an exceptional store experience because, while books are available everywhere, customers come to the store for the experience.
Our goal is to evoke the romance of books by providing a warm, happy environment and fostering a sense of community, especially in our flagship stores. The interior and atmosphere are key to this, particularly in larger stores where the experience is a major draw.
What are the different formats of Crosswork Bookstores?
We have four store formats based on size. The category mix varies by format: larger stores offer a wide range, while smaller stores focus on more curated selections of top-selling, in-demand products.
Our flagship stores, ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 sq. ft., are standalone locations, like the one in Kemp’s Corner, Mumbai. In those stores, we typically carry the entire portfolio of books, stationary, gifting and toys and will have around 5,000 to 6,000 SKUs across categories.
We also have brand stores up to 4,000 sq. ft., standard stores under 2,000 sq. ft., and express stores under 1,000 sq. ft.. Additionally, our airport stores are growing, with a curation tailored to travelers.
Do you prefer malls or high streets to open stores?
About 80 to 90% of our stores are located in malls, with only the flagship stores being independent, typically on high streets. The size of the stores depends on the mall’s capacity; larger malls with a bigger community base tend to have larger stores, while smaller malls have compact ones. Other factors, like the city’s population and consumer demand, also influence the store format.
Looking ahead, our priority will be to open stores in malls and airports. In tier-1 cities, we aim to have at least one flagship store, either standalone or within a mall.
Which markets are witnessing the highest demand?
Over the years, the West has been our strongest market, with the highest number of stores in that region, followed by the South.
In the future, the South will be a key focus for expanding our store network, with cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kerala offering great potential for more outlets.
Also, the response in tier-2 and tier-3 cities has been phenomenal. We have opened our first crossword stores in markets like Patna, Lucknow, and Dehradun—places we did not expect to be ready for Crossword—and the response has been overwhelming. These cities are eager for quality bookstores, which are often lacking, so tier-2 and tier-3 cities are a key focus of our expansion strategy.
What is the current ratio of sales between offline and online?
Online sales currently make up a very small portion of our business. This year, we revamped our website, primarily to support our in-store sales.
Stores will always be our main focus, and the website serves to complement that, especially for smaller store formats that can’t carry everything. If a book isn’t available in-store, customers can quickly order it online for delivery. Our website is linked with stores across the country, ensuring faster service and it is expected to grow more than it is now in the next three years.
Any plans to enter the quick commerce roster?
Not independently, but we are in discussions with major quick commerce players to partner with them and offer a curated selection of products, primarily in the gifting space, through their platforms.
Will you be launching any new categories?
We are not focusing on entirely new categories, but in the stationery and toy segments, our aim is to offer products that are not typically found in other stores. We focus on ‘edutainment’ toys—those that promote education, learning, and DIY activities.
In stationery and gifting, we have partnered with four major international brands including Legami, an Italian brand, two Spanish brands—Baldi, which focuses on gifting, and Milan, which specialises in stationery—and a UK-based company called The Company, offering book-related gifting products. We will be bringing more such global brands exclusively to India soon.
Do trends in bookstores change like fashion?
The book retail sector is heavily focused on staying in tune with current reading trends. We have a dedicated team that continuously engages with customers to understand what they are reading. For example, books about bookstores, those set in Japan or Korea, and books about cats are currently trending. Keeping up with the genres—both fiction and non-fiction—that people are interested in is something we monitor closely.
What is your target consumer base?
Crossword’s portfolio caters to the entire family, with children making up around 50% of our customer base.
There’s a strong focus on the kids’ category, particularly in toys and stationery. Our goal is to offer products that aid in a child’s overall development. One key aspect we focus on is reducing screen time for kids, so we curate books and toys that engage them in a more interactive and developmental way.
How does Crossword approach marketing?
Crossword actively engages in community-driven marketing through various initiatives. These include author events, reading sessions, and the highly active Crossword Kids Club, which hosts storytelling sessions nationwide. Additionally, the brand organises open mic sessions and book clubs across the country, fostering discussions around literature.
Through initiatives like ‘Crossword for Society’, the brand aims to create a space where readers can disconnect from devices and engage in real-world interactions, share recommendations, and chat with like-minded individuals. While these efforts may not have directly measurable sales impact, they are instrumental in strengthening leadership in the literary community and enhancing brand engagement.
Are there any upcoming marketing campaigns planned?
As an established brand for 32 years, we do not need to invest heavily in traditional brand-building marketing. Instead, our marketing efforts focus on community engagement.
A major portion of our marketing budget is dedicated to author events, as readers highly value the opportunity to meet and interact with their favourite writers. We also invest in celebrating Indian literature through initiatives like the Crossword Book Awards, which recognise and promote Indian authors.
Beyond this, we run seasonal campaigns throughout the year. For example, our Blind Book Date campaign for Valentine’s Day, where books are wrapped with only a short description, has received phenomenal engagement. Similarly, our Crime & Thriller month celebrates mystery and suspense novels in a fresh way.
Social media has glorified the idea of bookstores with cafés. Do any of your stores feature this concept?
Many of our stores have partnerships with cafés, especially in our flagship locations where space allows, as coffee and bookstores naturally complement each other. We are collaborating with brands like Third Wave Coffee and Blue Tokai in a store-in-store format.
While we would love to include a café in every store, it is not feasible for our express and standard formats.
How do you manage unsold inventory?
Our purchasing decisions are carefully planned based on trends and sales data. To manage unsold inventory, we organise book fairs, mall fairs, warehouse sales, across the country, offering discounted prices to ensure every book finds a reader. This helps clear out stock, and we have been growing this vertical significantly.
Are there any challenges you are facing in the book retail sector?
Managing the constant influx of new book releases is both one of the biggest challenges and the most exciting aspects of our work. There are always new books coming out, and it is difficult to predict which ones will be successful.
Sometimes, we order only a small quantity, and the book surprises us with its popularity. Our buying and merchandising teams put in a lot of effort to stay on top of trends and ensure books arrive on time. If a book is released today, we cannot afford for it to reach stores two days later. We strive to have new releases available in stores before the official release date.
Another challenge is managing the large number of books we would like to stock versus the limited space we have. We aim to ensure no customer leaves disappointed if a book is unavailable, but it is impossible to carry everything in every store. It is about maintaining the right product mix and making sure customers can access what they want through our website if it is not available in-store.
A further concern is the impact of online discounting, where books are sold at heavily discounted prices on marketplaces. Despite this, readers appreciate the in-store experience we provide, and we see continued growth as customers return to our stores to purchase books at full price.
What is your retail expansion plan for 2025?
We are definitely on a positive trajectory. We have already signed for a number of stores across various cities nationwide. The goal is to open five to six stores in this quarter, with plans to increase that to nine to ten stores in the following quarter. This means we aim to add around 30 stores to our portfolio every year.
There is significant potential for bookstores in India, especially when you look at international examples. For instance, Germany has around 1,500 stores despite being much smaller in area. With the growing leadership and new audiences in India, we are hopeful to reach 500 Crossword stores within the next five years.
Will you be entering global markets?
Yes, we are exploring international markets, particularly focusing on the Middle East and Southeast Asia for growth. We hope to open a Crossword store outside of India soon and the plan is to start with the Middle East.
How did Crossword perform financially in fiscal year(FY) 2025?
FY 2025 was a good year for us, showing strong growth. Although we did not add as many stores as we had hoped, the existing ones performed exceptionally well. We expect to finish the year with revenue of around Rs 275 crore, an increase of 42% from the Rs 194 crore in FY 2024.
What is your financial goal for FY26?
The goal for FY 2026 is to reach Rs 400 crore in sales, and with the stores already signed and in the pipeline, there is hope to meet that target.
