Book Buzzing India ; A1Books.com Fights Infrastructure Issues to Establish a Foothold in India Online Book Marketplace

Netcong, N.J. ­ Feb. 27 /Xpress Press/ - A1Books.com founder Shinu Gupta isn’t letting a little competition threaten his company’s uphill climb. With revenues of 20 million last year, A1Books may be the David to Amazon’s Goliath presence in the U.S. bookselling business, but Gupta is setting his sights now on India, his birthplace. A1Books India (http://www.a1books.co.in) was the first online book marketplace there launching in December of 2006.

The company has secured partnerships with many U.S. and Indian publishers and Google Books. UPS, which recently began servicing India, is handling fulfillment and distribution of product to citizens in a country whose retail growth expected to be 100 billion in annual revenues this year, according to a report titled, "The 2005 Global Retail Development Index, Destination: India " released recently by consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

The same report advises multinational brick-and-mortar retailers to start snapping up available real estate quickly citing rising costs and availability as a hurdle to expansion. In this area, online businesses have a clear advantage due to both the changing buying climate and cultural behavior of the Indian consumers. For example, even though more Indian consumers are using credit cards, they don’t travel far, if by car at all, to buy products. Some industry experts have argued that the typical Indian consumer does not travel more than 6 km (3.75 miles) or 7 km to shop, and that few suburbanites own cars. For an online retailer like A1Books who brings the product to the consumer, the marketing timing is excellent.

The site A1Books.co.in went live on Dec 12, 2006 and is now the largest book marketplace in India. With data from over a 100 Indian Publishers and major international distributors like Ingram USA and Gardners Books UK, and over 1 million Indian and international titles on sale, A1Books India is set to create a revolution in the Indian book industry.

Shinu Gupta, Founder and CEO of A1Books said, "We are committed to making knowledge available and affordable for customers in India. I recall my days as a student in India, how hard it was to obtain my textbooks. Whether it’s a student in rural India looking for textbooks or a publisher in the city looking to market their latest release to the world, everyone can now find and sell the book they want at the price they want to pay."

To serve the unique multicultural and multilingual Indian market, A1Books.co.in carries titles in all regional languages such as Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali and more. A1Books.co.in visitors can browse titles from various publishers, make secure payment and have books shipped to their doorstep. Indian publishers wishing to sell their books online benefit from A1’s long-term e-commerce expertise, inventory management, customer service, marketing support and an opportunity to reach millions of customers via http://www.a1books.co.in.

About A1 Books

Netcong, N.J­based A1Books USA was founded in 1995. In 2006, its U.S. book businesses (including remainder and wholesale units) had revenues of $20 million.

Gupta said that he's looking to expand into the U.S. college book market and added that several venture capital firms are considering investing in A1Books India. "The Indian online book market looks good to investors," he said. "There's no competition." Contact: Shreyas Telang (USA), shreyast(AT)a1books.com, (973) 710-1783 Ext. 103

Source: A1Books

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