Dymocks Booksellers
Encyclopedia
Dymocks booksellers is a bookstore chain found in Australia
. It currently has 73 stores in Australia
, 7 in New Zealand
and 13 in Hong Kong
.
by William Dymock in 1879, in Market Street
. As his business grew over the years, he moved to larger premises, and eventually had a million books in stock. As he had died childless and unmarried, the business passed to his sister, Marjory, who was married to John Forsyth. Since then, the Forsyth family has managed Dymocks. In 1922, the Dymock family purchased the site of the old Royal Hotel in George Street, and built the historic, Art Deco landmark Dymocks building, completed in 1930. In 1986 the bookstore chain was established as a franchise chain, and has since opened stores in every mainland Australia
n state, and also internationally in New Zealand
and Singapore
.
In 1999, Dymocks Booksellers entered into a joint venture
with South China Morning Post
(Holdings) to set up Dymocks Franchise Systems (China), in order to expand the Dymocks chain into Hong Kong
. As at end of 2009, there are 13 stores in Hong Kong.
, which holds a 20 per cent share.
In addition to stocking music CDs, DVD
s and other related items, Dymocks now has an online store launched in late 2006 in response to the increasing penetration into the Australian book market of online retailers such as Amazon.com
.
The Chief Executive of Dymocks Booksellers, Don Grover,
has indicated Dymocks is considering expanding into new markets such as e-book
s and printing-on-demand, to meet the challenges of a fragmenting book market. It was also reported in July 2007 that Dymocks was considering entering a bid for the Australian and New Zealand business of Borders Group
.
A noted recent appointment to the Board of Directors of Dymocks Booksellers is former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr
.
In 2009 Dymocks acquired an 80% equity stake in the Australian owned and operated Healthy Habits sandwich bar franchise for an undisclosed sum.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It currently has 73 stores in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 7 in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and 13 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
History
Its first bookstore was opened in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
by William Dymock in 1879, in Market Street
Market Street, Sydney
Market Street is a cross street in the Central Business District of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sussex Street near Darling Harbour in the west, to Elizabeth Street at St. James railway station in the east....
. As his business grew over the years, he moved to larger premises, and eventually had a million books in stock. As he had died childless and unmarried, the business passed to his sister, Marjory, who was married to John Forsyth. Since then, the Forsyth family has managed Dymocks. In 1922, the Dymock family purchased the site of the old Royal Hotel in George Street, and built the historic, Art Deco landmark Dymocks building, completed in 1930. In 1986 the bookstore chain was established as a franchise chain, and has since opened stores in every mainland Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n state, and also internationally in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
In 1999, Dymocks Booksellers entered into a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
(Holdings) to set up Dymocks Franchise Systems (China), in order to expand the Dymocks chain into Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. As at end of 2009, there are 13 stores in Hong Kong.
Dymocks today
Dymocks presently holds the second-largest slice of the Australian book market, at 17-18 per cent, behind competitor Angus & RobertsonAngus & Robertson
Angus & Robertson is a bookstore chain in Australia. Its first bookstore was opened in 110½ Market Street, Sydney by Scotsman David Angus in 1884; it sold second-hand books. In 1886, he went into partnership with fellow Scot, George Robertson with whom he had worked earlier.- Bookselling history...
, which holds a 20 per cent share.
In addition to stocking music CDs, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s and other related items, Dymocks now has an online store launched in late 2006 in response to the increasing penetration into the Australian book market of online retailers such as Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
.
The Chief Executive of Dymocks Booksellers, Don Grover,
has indicated Dymocks is considering expanding into new markets such as e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
s and printing-on-demand, to meet the challenges of a fragmenting book market. It was also reported in July 2007 that Dymocks was considering entering a bid for the Australian and New Zealand business of Borders Group
Borders Group
Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
.
A noted recent appointment to the Board of Directors of Dymocks Booksellers is former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr
Bob Carr
Robert John "Bob" Carr , Australian statesman, was Premier of New South Wales from 4 April 1995 to 3 August 2005. He holds the record for the longest continuous service as premier of NSW...
.
In 2009 Dymocks acquired an 80% equity stake in the Australian owned and operated Healthy Habits sandwich bar franchise for an undisclosed sum.