An inexpensive proposition

You don't have to keep track of sales or bargain at this new bookstore in Pune that offers discounts all year round

We've all been through this. You spot a big yellow SALE sticker screaming from the store window of your favourite bookstore. You make a note so you don't forget, but the next time you go there, the sale is over.



Now, a Delhi-based bookstore has opened a branch in Pune, which sells books at a discount, all the year through. "It's not a new concept; stores have been offering discounts on certain books for certain periods," says Kapil Kapoor, director, Roli Books that operates the bookstore called Half Price.

"Half Price is an organised attempt at offering discounts all year round." Their first store opened in New Delhi earlier this year. How does the store afford to sell at half price? Kapoor explains, "Roli Books has been publishingu00a0 for 33 years, and in that time we have built a network that allows us to source books directly from publishers or wholesalers, at a bargain. We are simply sharing that with buyers by offering good prices."

The store opened on May 28 to frenzied readers in the education hub. So while readers are happy to have their pockets still jingling when they walk out of the store, what happens to the little bookstore down the road that can't compete with these prices?

"There is room for everyone," offers Kapoor adding, "There are enough books for each bookstore to cultivate regular readers. We aren't pricing our books to deal with competition." Having said this, Kapoor does admit that the Indian reader is price-sensitive.u00a0

If you want to visit the place, look for CMYK, a bungalow-turned-art book store that houses Half Price in Koregaon Park. You will find books with their original and marked down price for children, cooking, fiction, etc. The store offers a minimum 25 per cent discount on all books.

At: Half Price, CMYK Bookstore, Goldfields Enclave, Row house number 4, South Main Road, Koregaon Park, Pune Call: 02041206529