KEY POINTS:
Make no mistake, books are big business.
Last year, the New Zealand consumer spend on books and similar merchandise topped $1 billion for the first time - capping off a trend of phenomenal growth that seems, for the moment, immune to the speed wobbles hitting other retailers.
But data from Statistics New Zealand shows that newspaper, book and stationery retailing sales fell in March by 2.4 per cent from the same month a year earlier - the first decline since November 2006.
And more pain could come. A Bank of New Zealand report expects book sales to slump by between 5 and 10 per cent this year, based on the relationship between import trends and household spending.
Puzzling, then, that chain retailers such as A&R Whitcoulls - fresh from the acquisition of the Borders stores - talks expansion into small-town New Zealand, while locally-owned Paper Plus embarks on an expensive national refit of its 105 stores.
Australian franchise Dymocks Booksellers, meanwhile, is opening two new stores in Auckland next month with an eye on the South Island next year. It marks the continuation of an expansion that saw new stores in Hamilton and Tauranga launched late last year.
When the Mt Eden and Smales Farm stores open next month, Dymocks will have nine stores in the North Island. General manager Andrew Howard said the wider retailing slump had not deterred them.
"Retailers tend to take a really long-term approach. Retailing conditions fluctuate daily, not just monthly like we're seeing at the moment. The current trend in the economic cycle isn't new; it's been building for a period of time, and there's light out the other side of it.
"You do need to continue and develop and invest in your business all the time. You can't just stop because you're having a rough ride in any month."
Nor has it stopped Paper Plus chief executive Rob Smith's planned store fit-outs.
"There's no doubt it's challenging times out there for everyone. And I guess the bigger ticket items are the products that are feeling it a little more. So we're holding our own."
The roll-out of the new look - featuring redesigned livery, an improved store layout and a greater emphasis on books - follows the success of a concept store opened last July at the Sylvia Park shopping centre.
Its Papakura and Morrinsville stores were refurbished soon after, with the Tauranga region's seven stores the latest in a planned wave of region-by-region fit-outs.
"The reality is you don't decide overnight that you're going to launch something like this. There's obviously months' worth of planning ... Just the fact that the retail market started to tighten up in May was not a reason for us to hold back."
Smith will not divulge sales figures, but said he was happy with the Bay of Plenty's results so far.
As was Dymocks' Howard, who said sales over recent months have been "steady".
These are interesting times for booksellers, who not only have to contend with the shrinking consumer spend, but also competition from the independents, the department store book sections and online retailers.
Independent bookseller Tom Beran, who owns The Booklover in Takapuna and Dear Reader in Grey Lynn, has not felt the impact of a slowdown.
"I think other independents, Auckland in particular, are finding the same thing.
"The chains in the last few years haven't quite done the public relations side as well as they should, in spite of a lot of marketing dollars put behind them. It's the independents that have flourished because they've developed a very, very strong, loyal base which I don't think is going to move away from them for any reason.
"People do like good service and knowledgeable staff. And individuals with a passion for books."
Beran does not feel threatened by the expansion of the big booksellers.
"They've got a very tough job to take any of the existing market away from the independents. Where will they find a new market?
"Mt Eden, for example, has three exceptional bookshops - and Newmarket's not far away - so to open a new Dymocks in Mt Eden, they must know something we don't. If the market is not going to grow, you're relying on pulling customers away from existing shops who already give such a good service."
But Dymocks' Howard believes its reputation as a serious bookseller will win over new customers.
"For us, it's not about the latest top 10 soft paperback titles; it is about the hardback editions, those coffee table books, literary authors and about having the depth and backlist in stock."
While others have been forced to expand their range to include music, movies and macchiatos in a bid to sustain growth, Howard is adamant this won't be happening at Dymocks.
"We are a specialist book retailer, so we don't really play in other markets like DVDs or gifts or stationery. Our background and our core is about the book product.
"Books are quite a romantic product. There's the aroma, the look, the feel, and that's why customers do come."
EXPANSION PLANS
A&R Whitcoulls: The Borders and Whitcoulls owner wants to expand into small-town New Zealand.
Dymocks: Opening two new stores in Auckland in August. Has plans to expand into the South Island next year.
Paper Plus: Refitting 105 stores.
