ARTI MIRCHANDANI is the director of Bookazine bookstore in Hong Kong that celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Here, she reflects on the origins of the business, how it has become a favourite for many people, and how she has grown with it.
The first Bookazine was opened in 1985 by Arti’s parents, Mohan and Nisha Mirchandani. Mohan had moved to Hong Kong to work with his uncle, also in the book industry. He later opened a distribution company that sold books and magazines to stores around Hong Kong, but as there weren’t many stores, stock was hard to shift. It was for this reason that Bookazine launched in the Hopewell Centre (HK’s tallest building at the time).
Arti was only seven then, but she has strong memories of the store and its layout. “I remember thinking how cool my parents were, but also thinking, ‘I wish they had opened a toy store.’ Because which seven-year-old doesn’t love toys?”
The business soon gained momentum, with Arti’s mum taking on the management responsibilities of each new outlet. “She used to go to work seven days a week, and I’d go with her on some Sundays, just to spend time with her.”
From student to store worker
When she was older, Arti would take a bus to Central and go to the store in Alexander House (the flagship store at that time) and do her homework in a little back office until closing. Her dad would then come and pick them both up.
“I grew up in the stores,” she says. “My sister and I would work in them over our Christmas holidays, usually bagging at the counter or wrapping and helping customers find things.”
Arti officially joined the family business in February 2002, starting as a shop assistant and learning the ropes from the store manager. A few years later, when the company’s book buyer suddenly left, Arti stepped in to fill the void.
Today, she still oversees this aspect of the business, assisted by “an incredible team” of buyers that allow her to get involved in the many and varied aspects of running a bookstore – from opening pop-ups to working on planograms for new stores. “I love doing it all, to be honest, but perhaps travelling to trade fairs is the part of my job I enjoy the most,” she says.
Changes and challenges of bookstores in Hong Kong
Since its launch in the mid-1980s, Bookazine has opened and closed stores all over Hong Kong. “We had 13 stores at our peak and by this summer, we will have six,” explains Arti. “We love the locations we’re at now, and the communities in and around each of the stores.”
She also takes a pragmatic approach to the challenges that Bookazine has faced over the years, from economic downturns to the shift from print to digital.
“Being a family-run small business, we’re able to adapt and change quite quickly,” she says. “The economy is out of our hands; the only thing we can do is put our heads down and work hard.”
“I don’t find digital books to be a threat anymore,” she adds. “They were very popular when they first launched, but a lot of people still prefer an actual book. We re-launched our website during COVID and we’re constantly working on it to create the same customer experience you have in-store, online. There’s a new challenge every day, but we have a super supportive team and we manage to overcome every obstacle because of them.”
New offerings
A good team provides scope for a business to branch out, and that’s what Bookazine has done over the years too. In 2015, Arti launched a new brand, Partytime. This shop-within-a-shop offers a collection of party supplies to make throwing the perfect party simple.
“It was a concept I came up with as I struggled to organise my daughter’s birthday party as a single working mother running a business. I remember being in the store on the first day of it opening and having a mum rush in five minutes before closing to buy things she needed for the next morning. She’d been at work all day and we stayed open to assist her. She gave me the biggest hug as she left! This was exactly the reason bwhy I wanted to start Partytime.”
A more recent development was the opening of Bookazine Social. This dedicated community space with a workshop room in Tai Kwun is aimed at fostering community connections by encouraging individuals to come together to share ideas and be creative.
“We host a lot of amazing workshops and events here, from book binding to writing clinics, watercolour workshops to charity bracelet making,” says Arti. “You can also see talks on everything from how to get published to the psychology of money.”
Looking forward
What’s next? A reopening at The Repulse Bay this summer, for one thing. And Arti and the team are also in the midst of getting all of their Christmas orders in. (Yes, they have to start early!) “There are some great new and exciting products coming that I can’t wait to have in the stores,” she says.
Speaking of new things, when asked about the appetite of Bookazine readers in 2025, Arti says that non-fiction is trending, including “anything AI”.
Artificial Intelligence might be changing a lot of things, but it’s not changing the simple joy of reading words on a page and getting immersed in a good book!
Bookazine has six bookstores in Hong Kong and an online store at bookazine.com.hk.
This article on Bookazine bookstores in Hong Kong first appeared in the June 2025 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe so you never miss a copy!
