Exclusive | Happy Reading with INDIAreads: Gunjan Veda

If you are an avid book lover and a voracious reader but do not often find time to buy or read books then here is a solution. INDIAreads.com, an online library cum bookstore that has been set up to address this gap and to rekindle reading habits among the book lovers. Speaking to Adgully, Gunjan Veda, CEO, INDIAreads.com says, “we started this venture with just one agenda - to ensure that people are not denied the pleasure of reading due to problems of access. So we decided to leverage the power of the worldwide web to provide access, convenience and information.”

Started in 2010, INDIAreads is a book service that focuses on the relationship between books and readers. More than the just the buying and renting of books it offers a host of additional book-centric services to its customers, including expert book reviews, ‘meet the author’ events, book launch events, book recommendations from book counsellors and information about best-selling titles. The library collection is bi-lingual (Hindi and English) and includes a vast collection of books across all genres - fiction, non-fiction, romance, thrillers, novels, autobiographies, management, current affairs, political science, self-help, health, spirituality, children, fantasy etc.

The venture initially began with an online library and has now added bookstore. Based out of Noida with presence in Mumbai and Kolkata, INDIAreads has also added corporate plans, librarymate content services for libraries and Literathon - a cross-country celebration ofbooks and reading, that brings authors and readers to a single platform and enables them to interact and indulge in debates and discussions.

Elaborating on the business model, Veda says, “our business model is subscription based. People can rent books from us and get them delivered to their houses by paying a nominal fee. They can also buy books from us. Since we offer both products and services, we are able to diversify our repertoire and reduce risks.” The basic library plans for Delhi/NCR start at Rs 150 per month. The subscription rates depend on the number of books a person would like to take in a month, the duration of subscription (one month, 6 months or one year) and the location of the user. Plans for metros (including Bangalore) start at Rs 199 per month and at Rs 230 for the rest of India.

The online library segment is getting competitive with quite a few names like librarywala, kitab etc setting up shop in recent times. There are quite a few other regional online players trying to establish a foothold. However Veda is unfazed as she says, “we don't really have any competitors because instead of offering a piecemeal service, we are providing comprehensive services for all book readers. We are not into multi-product retail. We don't just sell books or rent them out. Our specialty is books and if you have any literary needs - be they of rental, recommendation, review, purchase, of attending literary events or building libraries, we assist you with them.”

The sector however faces challenges like other online ventures. The biggest challenge has been logistics. Reverse logistics in this country is a very new field. Adds Veda, “while we have 1.50 lakhs pin codes in India, only about 10,000 are covered by courier operators. So providing that last mile connectivity and especially quality connectivity has been a huge problem.” INDIA reads.com plans to tackle this through multi-city operations based on a franchisee model.

As it grows, the focus will also be on Tier II and Tier III cities, through the franchise model off course. Says Veda, “increasingly people from smaller centres are using our services to get access to books. We have members in places like Bokaro, Jodhpur, Aizawl. We have sent books to coffee plantations in Coorg and villages in Punjab.” Currently, the 20 member team at INDIAreads is concentrating on expanding their services to more cities and towns across India. As a part of its marketing initiative, it has introduced a unique literary event titled Literathon - which provides students and faculty with a platform to interact with people from the literary world.

So Happy Reading now with INDIAreads.com