JEDDAH, 7 September 2005 — Stationery shops and bookstores are racking up their best sales as students return to schools and universities on Saturday after the summer vacation. Big bookstores and stationery stores earn higher profits than small ones in this high season due to their higher prices.
Big bookstores, such as Al-Maktaba Bookstores and Stationery, make 20 percent of the whole year’s sales during the back-to-school season. “Our yearly turnover ranges from SR140 million to SR150 million, 20 percent is made in this month when schools and universities are back,” a manager told Arab News.
At Tihama bookstore, Ehab Al-Darwish said a quarter of the usual profits are made in these two weeks when people purchase their school and university needs.
Al-Ameen Bookstore and Stationery, a small business in Al-Jamaa district, reports that the best time of the year runs from the first days of September through the beginning of October.
An employee at the bookstore said that there is a difference between our prices and the big bookstores’ prices.
“My bookstore is small, and accordingly the books I sell and the photocopying charges are lower than other places,” he said. “One of the books I sell is SR120, when I asked about it in a big bookstore, they said it sold for SR180.”
He said he doesn’t blame them because they have a bigger well-equipped building and about 70 employees, so they should make up for their expenses. “During the first month in which schools and universities open in, Al-Ameen’s makes SR120,000 to SR80,000 whereas during the other months of the year, the profits reach SR8,000 a month,” he elaborated.
Some students find small bookstores to have affordable prices and more convenient.
“I once bought a medical book from Al-Marreekh bookstore that I found in one of the big bookstores at SR70 higher,” said Samar Salim, a medical student.
Others prefer the bigger bookstores that sell everything they need.
“I prefer to go to a bookstore that has stationery goods, books, kids’ toys and other things that suit all kinds of people in one place,” said Reem Abdullah, a Saudi employee.
The stationery market in Saudi Arabia is estimated at SR1 billion a year, most of which is made during the two weeks before schools reopen after the summer holidays.
