Paula rapporterar från vår göteborgsbutik
Samarbeten är nyckeln till framgång. Ingen kan göra allt själv, och i mötet med andra kan vi läsa oss nya saker och utvecklas. Både som personer och som verksamhet. I samarbete med EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL BOOKSELLERS FEDERATION och RISE BOOKSELLING – och inom ramen för "utbytesprogrammet" RISE Bookselling exchange programme – hade vi förra veckan glädje att välkomna Paula van Kempen till vår butik i Göteborg.
Paula arbetar till vardags som marknadsansvarig på den nederländska och familjeägda bokkedjan PAAGMAN. Vi är mycket glada att vi - under några dagar – fick välkomna Paula och utbyta erfarenheter. Nedan kan du läsa hennes egna tankar från besöket.
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When I heard about the RISE Bookselling exchange programme, I was immediately excited. My 'business trips' over the past 17 years at bookstore Paagman did not go beyond Amsterdam or Utrecht (2 hours' travel time was a lot). People who work with books are a certain breed of people with love for the business, so I thought it would be great fun to meet the same geeks from other countries and exchange experiences.
I was honoured when my application was accepted and even happier when I got to go to Sweden, I had never been to Scandinavia before (Sweden is such a beautiful country!). Incredibly enthusiastic and warmly I was welcomed by Jenny and Johannes, Darth Vader and all the other colleagues from Science Fiction Bokhandeln in Göteborg. I myself work at the marketing & communication departement of a general bookstore, so I had to confess at (multiple) times that I did not know much about the various topics.
The Netherlands has a fixed book price law, which means that the price of books is set by the publishers and a book costs the same in all shops, physical or online. This can sometimes be frustrating, and one of the questions I was asked in Science Fiction Bokhandeln was: how do you compete then?
But actually I found out that it's also a blessing. People come to our shop because of the knowledge, or the nice tables, the wide range, etc., but never because of the competing prices. After all, those are the same everywhere.
In Sweden, that means you have to have an even clearer direction, because competing against online prices is very hard. At Science Fiction Bokhandeln they have understood this: the staff are all very passionate and have so much knowledge. I understood that when you apply for a job, you are asked what your"geek profile" is, so the shop immediately knows what they can expect from you, where your specialism lies. I think that's really cool. I have noticed that various communities feel at home at Science Fiction Bokhandeln and Sirius Café, and I understand that. Every day there are people at the door waiting for the shop to open, which is what you want to have as a shop. The knowledge and passion the staff have is the reason for customers to come to the shop.
All week, I was told by the staff that this was no ordinary week, because this was the preparation week for GothCon.... It was buzzing throughout the company. Ihad no idea what to expect from GothCon, but it boils down (as far as I understood) to games-buying Sweden (and surrounding Scandinavian countries)coming to a beautiful school building in Göteborg to play AND buy games. I helped set up the stand, and was amazed by the huge number of games there.
Some of the range: Lacrimosa (Mozart music is a game!), Throw throw burrito and Golem (which looked very terrifying). Unfortunately, I had to miss Gothcon itself, but I hope it was a nice sales weekend, where the enthusiastic colleagues could play a game themselves as well!
Many thanks for the warm welcome and answers to my questions, and apologies again for lacking sf and fantasy knowledge, but thanks for not making fun of me.
I really enjoyed being part of this passionated team for several days.
// Paula, Paagman
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Arbetar du inom bokhandelssektorn? Skulle du vara intresserad att få kontakt med branschkollegor runt om i världen och dela dina erfarenheter? RISE Bookselling exchange programme har precis öppnat ansökan för nästa utbytesperiod. Läs mer HÄR.
Du kan ansöka fram till den 27 April 2023