DAMMAM, 21 September 2003 — Back to school and it is time for business in bookstores and shopping centers. According to one report, some SR2 billion worth of books and stationery are sold in the Kingdom. This means huge profits for big bookstores and stationery shops.
To take advantage of the profits, the trend in the Eastern Province is now to transform small shopping centers and grocery stores into bookstores for about two weeks every year. This practice has disturbed licensed bookstores and stationery shops who call such temporary transformations illegal.
According to the owner of a large Dammam bookstore, his shop has experienced a sharp decline in sales. The bookstore owners say that the temporary bookstores are causing them considerable financial loss. “It is absolutely illegal and the authorities should take action against them,” one owner said.
On the other hand, the owners of the temporary bookstores say that there is nothing illegal involved in selling books and stationery.
“We sell copies and stationery throughout the year. When school reopens, we increase our stocks. All the items we sell are salable items for shopping centers,” said the owner of a shopping center in Dammam who has stockpiled textbooks and stationery and is doing exceptionally good business.
