Malaysia: "Easier Access To Books Via the Vending Machine"
From an Article in the Malaysia Star:
Malaysians will have easier and cheaper access to books soon, thanks to a neat new means of selling them.
Donald Kee, COO of the bookstore chain, explains how the idea came about: “We wanted to come up with a way in which we could reach our customers instead of waiting for them to come to us. It would not be possible for us to open shops everywhere, that would too expensive.
[Clip]
As Kee says, “Rental prices are going up, and only having a retail outlet is not sufficient to keep a business going any more.
[Clip]
We are going to place the machines in universities, hospitals, banks, office buildings and LRT (Light Rail Transit) stations.
“The stock will be changed often so every time someone walks past it, they will see new books,” says Kee.
Kee and his team are under no illusions that all this talk about convenience and innovation are sufficient propositions to attract customers. Thus, the book vending machines’ main selling point is that MPH will be able to offer books at a discounted price.
The books in the machines will be at least 20% lower in price than those sold in brick and mortar stores, with the possibility of bigger discounts later on.
Filed under: News

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.