Second-hand bookshop to reopen as social enterprise after donors save business
Failing second-hand bookstore was rescued by HK$150,000 in donations from the public
The owner of a failing second-hand bookstore in Hong Kong which was rescued by HK$150,000 in donations from the public has told how he hopes to “climb Everest” by reopening his shop as a social enterprise which is co-owned by the donors.
Surdham Lam, owner of FlowBooks in Central, said he was extremely grateful for the public’s generous support for his a successful online crowdfunding campaign in May, adding “every single contribution was so important”.
The 53-year-old bookseller from Wong Tai Sin, who founded his business in December 1997 shortly after the handover, said he is now considering how to relaunch his shop, which has been mainly offering second-hand English books, to make it a long-term profitable business.
He said he was in talks with a corporate sponsor, online rental platform ECrent, to explore ways of generating more income for the shop.
“I want to tell the donors that no matter what the situation, this is now a co-owned book shop,” he said. “[We survived] because 2017 was all about giving a helping hand. So thank you very much to the donors; every single contribution was so important. So we can now make another step forward; this is like climbing Everest and we can reach the top together.”