“Yay! We can finally have access to affordable,
quality English books at the BookXcess bookstore in Johor Baru!”
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| BookXcess Sunway Big Box is now open in Johor Baru; Co-founder, Andrew Yap [3rd from Left] and CEO Sunway Malls & Theme Parks, H C Chan [3rd from Right] with special guests at the official opening event. |
This is the sentiment shared by booklovers and readers
who welcomed the opening of the largest bookstore in the Southern region that
occupies 32,000 sq ft of Level One at Sunway Big Box hybrid retail park at
Sunway Iskandar in Iskandar Puteri.
Johoreans have become familiar with the best book
bargains found at the Big Bad Wolf book festivals that visited JB from time to
time and their deep longing for the much-anticipated opening of their sister
brand, BookXcess bookstore in JB this February, cannot be overstated.
The proof of this was seen in the crowd of shoppers
who had gathered at the bookstore entrance way before opening time…
Created with a design concept dubbed, The Box of
Knowledge, the centerpiece of the ninth BookXcess bookstore in Malaysia is
the towering 7.5-meter tall bookshelves in the shape of a box that cleverly
conceal an exciting Children’s Cave within.
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| The Adult Fiction section within a sunken cavern |
In addition to this Box-within-a-Box concept, the wide
and roomy layout of the bookstore within a warehouse-like space allows shoppers
to explore the store to browse and select their picks from the collection of thousands
of brand-new books.
Books are displayed wall-to-wall as well as on islands
of bookshelves and be prepared to walk up and down steps into caverns and alcoves.
Inside the Adult Fiction section, look out for a small
circle of glass on its floor that allows shoppers to see through into the
section below. Fair warning is given to those short wearing skirts, not to linger nearby
or to stand on this glass circle…
Besides Café Wolf, their in-store café which serves
snacks and beverages for shoppers to enjoy a refreshment break from their
browsing, there are comfortable seats and reading corners to rest, relax and
read.
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| Inside the Children's Cave |
Thirteen years ago, when co-founder of BookXcess
Andrew Yap and his wife, Jacqueline, opened their first store in a tiny space
in Amcorp Mall, Kuala Lumpur, they never anticipated how the business would
develop to what it is now.
They received such tremendous response in that 500 sq
ft bookstore that after only six months, they were ready to move into a larger
space that measured 3,000 sq ft to continue with their mission to encourage the
reading habit by making available quality books at affordable prices.
Since that humble start in 2007, now BookXcess have retail
outlets at The Starling, Fahrenheit88 and SS15 Courtyard in KL.
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| A view of a section of the shopfloor from upstairs |
In May 2018, BookXcess opened the nation’s largest and
only 24-hour bookstore at Tamarind Mall and in 2019, they opened in Sunsuria
Forum @ 7th Avenue and their first store outside of Kuala Lumpur in
Gurney Paragon Mall, Penang, followed by BookXcess Kong Heng in Ipoh.
At the opening of BookXcess Sunway Big Box, Andrew said
that his wife was travelling abroad on a regular buying trip to source for new
stock of a wide range of books from publishers around the world.
“BookXcess is on a mission to bring back the love for
reading and we are rallying allies everywhere we go, especially the parents’ community.
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| Take a refreshment break at Cafe Wolf, their in-store cafe |
We believe parents are the best people to nurture the
reading habit among children,” said Andrew who encouraged parents to instill
the reading habit by increasing the number of books at home and exposing their
children to a wide variety of books.
“Reading increases knowledge, builds character,
improves one’s thinking process and widens your awareness of social, economic
and environmental issues,” he added.
Chief Executive Officer of Sunway Malls and Theme
Parks, H C Chan, commended Andrew as a visionary leader who has made quality
books available and affordable.
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| Orderly queues at the cashier counters |
At the opening event, Chan borrowed a popular quote
and proudly declared, “Now everyone can read!”
Parents of young children will be delighted to
discover a range of Magical Books that should be enjoyed using Augmented
Reality (AR) technology, exclusively available at BookXcess.
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| Books for sale to donate under the Red Readerhood CSR arm |
Reading these Magical AR Books through an app on the smartphone or tablet would make the story come alive with animation for the kids to enjoy an immersive and interactive reading experience.
Take advantage of a special promotion for Magical
Books from now till 31 March 2020 where shoppers can buy two Magical Books and get
one Magical Book for Free OR buy three Magical Books and get two Magical Books
for Free.
BookExcess also introduced their Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) arm dubbed, Red Readerhood where brand new English books
are collected and donated to the underprivileged through a local organization
in support of their cause.
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| Standing on the see-through glass circle in the Adult Fiction section |
To kick-off their CSR effort in JB, BookXcess Sunway
Big Box will match the number of books sold on it opening day to be donated to
a charity of their choice.
Shoppers may choose from a selection of books to buy
and donate from the shelves marked Red Readerhood in the bookstore.
For the opening weekend, from now till March 1,
shoppers can enjoy 20% off titles on top of the discounted books.
Shoppers may also sign up for Free BookXcess
membership, purchase selected items for RM1 only, get a RM20 BookXcess cash
voucher for every RM150 spent and even enjoy 50% off coffee or tea at Café
Wolf.
For more info and ongoing contests, visit BookXcess on
Facebook and Instagram or website: www.bookxcess.com
BookXcess Sunway Big Box is located at FF-01, Level
One of Sunway Big Box, Sunway Iskandar, Johor. Open daily from 10am to 10pm.
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