Established in 1983, Kingstone Bookstore is the oldest chain store in Taiwan. Over the past three decades, Kingstone has not only operated more than sixty physical bookstores, but has also established an online store to serve Chinese book readers worldwide. To provide more efficient service to its customers, Kingstone also operates its own merchandising and distribution center, Kingsmond Book Co., Ltd.
Kingstone's founder, Tu Su Chou, had originally planned to build a library in the original
factory of his textile business; however, after encouragement from many friends in the
publishing industry, he decided instead to establish a bookstore. This bookstore, Ting Chou
Main Store, was not only the first of the Kingstone chain, but was also the first of a new age
of bookstores in Taiwan.
The first store was a great success. In May 1984, Kingstone opened its first branch, located
on Chung-Ching South Road, Taipei's "Traditional Book Street." This store shocked its dark and
cramped neighboring bookstores with bright lights, open space for customers to move, and new
concepts such as the Bestseller Lists. Kingstone now operates over sixty branch
locations all around the island of Taiwan.
In 1998, Kingstone began organizing its franchise business. Drawing on its experience with opening chain stores, Kingstone provides tools and consulting services for those interested entrepreneurs willing to open franchise stores. The first franchise store opened in May 1999. Through this program, Kingstone hopes to entice more people with a passion for books to ultimately create a society of readers.
Books and magazines are the most important products at Kingstone. Kingstone features more than 3,000 new titles every month and 600,000 books in print, including select foreign language publications. In addition to books, Kingstone sells stationery, greeting cards, multimedia products, and gift items.
The mission of Kingstone Bookstore is to be a professional bookstore that provides every customer with an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. The Business Philosophy of Kingstone Bookstore is Learning, Innovation, Focus, and En-team.
In order to better serve all its branches, Kingstone established Kingsmond Book Co. and built up its own 10,000 sq-meter merchandising and distribution center. Kingsmond focuses on having the highest quality products at the most competitive prices and on efficiently distributing these products to every store.
In December 2000, Kingstone extended its business onto the Internet. Digital Kingstone Co. was established to operate Kingstone's online bookstore, www.kingstone.com.tw. Brand awareness, reliability, and experience in logistics inherited from its parent company are the key competitive advantages for Digital Kingstone. The website expands Kingstone's customer base worldwide, and it has more than three million members.
The mission of Digital Kingstone is to provide better service for its members. It continuously introduces new services, including product line expansion into apparel, household goods, etc., and various discount options for customers.
In order to create an omni-channel customer experience, Kingstone introduced a customer order system. The idea is to leverage the huge selection of books available online to serve customers who cannot find something at the physical stores.
