s year.  The latest opened in Udon Thani at the end of March. Consumers all over the world are increasingly switching to ebooks which can be bought online, downloaded wirelessly and read on devices ranging from iPhones and laptops, to iPads and Kindles.  But B2S MD Nath Vongpanich is not deterred by the trend: “The growth of e-books has not impacted our physical book sales. On the contrary, it only encourages people to read more,” he said. By the end of 2012, B2S will boast a store count of 86 stores, mostly located in shopping centres, including those owned by its parent Central Retail Corporation, best known for its Central-branded malls and the giant CentralWorld in downtown Bangkok, Thailand’s capital.   At the same time, B2S plans to grow its online offer – it will add 95.5 per cent of its magazine range and 200-300 Thai pocketbooks onto its online inventory and expects 50 million baht (US$1.61 million) of sales from downloads of an estimated 800,000 digital titles from its e-store this year. Inside Retail Asia took a close look at one of B2S’s newest stores – in Central Plaza, in Bangkok’s Ratchadapisek district. (Two stations from Sukhumvit, directly linked to Phra Ram 9 station on the MRT underground line). The photos in this article are all of this store (except for the bottom image). In our view, several factors make this retail concept stand out and give optimism for its longer term survival in the face of growing digital competition.  Firstly, the store is much more than a bookstore. A surprisingly large range of SKUs are contained inside with the stores crossing over into other popular categories – gifts, hobbies and scrapbooking, for example. Books, movies and music might be the front-of-house drawcards, but stationery, a spectacular range of pens, pencils, calligraphy tools and paints, a limited toy offer and desirable gifts (think a cross between the funky Smiggle and the more arty kikki.k) spread the retailer’s options somewhat.  Secondly the store design is modern and inviting. Exposed services and black-painted roof voids above, polished concrete floors below and black shelving allow bright coloured signage to stand out, boldly identifying the different categories in store – books, entertainment (movies and music) and stationery are all clearly delineated.       B2S has a far from cookie cutter store design: formats differ depending on the clientele. For example, the CentralWorld flagship spans several floors, includes a cafe, an expansive magazine section, an entire floor for books split about 60-40 between English language and Thai. Others which attract fewer local expats or tourists are smaller, with a much more Thai offer.  Central Plaza is home to two B2S stores – the destination store is on an upper level, with an express format at ground level close to the railway station entrance selling high-churn lines.  It’s a tough task creating a bookstore which can survive the digital assault of the modern market. Globally, smaller chains like Bertrands in Spain, (pictured below), Dymocks in Australia and Books Kinokinuya in Japan are surviving because they offer a distinctly inviting destination – and they;ve outlived their large rivals. B2S may well join them as thrivers rather than just survivors.