Struggling to stay afloat, Bengaluru’s iconic bookstore Goobe’s may have to shut shop

The store may have to close down by as early as December this year.

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Goobe’s Book Republic, the decade-old secondhand bookstore in Bengaluru, is struggling to keep its doors open, and is appealing to bibliophiles to head over and support the business.

Goobe’s began serving customers secondhand books, as well as the latest releases, in 2009. It is situated in a basement at one end of Church Street, parallel to MG Road. Goobe is among the iconic bookstores of Bengaluru, like its neighbours, Blossoms and Bookworm. However, the store may have to wind up soon. They recently posted on social media that demonetisation and the current economic slowdown has caused their business to dwindle. This comes after several businesses in the city have been threatened by low demand.

Ravi Menezes, the owner of Goobe's, told TNM that he has been finding it hard to cover his overheads ever since demonetisation happened. “We’d love to keep working, but it’s important for us to clear our overheads, and generate new business.” Some, who are moved by the thought of this iconic bookstore shutting down, have been fervently sharing posts on Facebook to encourage people to go to Goobe’s Book Republic. Social media posts say that Goobe’s is “staring at extinction”, as quickly as by December this year. The posts urge people to go and there and support local bookstores.

Goobe’s is currently hosting a clearance sale of select books. Prices for these books start at Rs 25, Rs 69 and Rs 99. Besides selling books, Goobe’s has also been a frequent spot for book launches, and for talks with authors.

Apart from the bookstore, Goobe’s also offers a library service to office spaces with more than 50 employees. They propose to set up a book rack at the office, and change 100 of the books with fresh stock every month, based on reading preferences. The service starts at Rs 7000, and can be personalised for organisations with more employees.

Other popular bookstores on Church Street that also attract local bibliophiles are Bookworm and Blossoms. The latter has recently expanded to open a second store on Church Street.