Recently I have read a couple of books on some of the famous brands in the world, about the story behind their creation and success, about the vision, mission and values that formed a part of their identity. There were two books which I found to be particularly enjoyable and insightful to read:

“The Starbucks Story, How the brand changed the world” by John Simmons

The story of Starbucks has always been a fascinating one. A company that was founded by a few gentlemen who were obsessed over high quality coffee beans, which was then bought over by Howard Schultz, a man who was obsessed with the coffee culture and experience which he immersed in Italy. The whole brand was then transformed, from selling beans and brewing equipment to serving coffees and pastries, creating “The Third Place” that everyone will go besides office and home.

“Shoe Dog, a memoir by the creator of Nike” by Phil Knight

This is actually the first time I got to know the Nike brand in detail. I was surprised that the whole story was started off with Phil importing Onitsuka Tiger’s shoes, how it all went south in the end and ultimately led to the creation of their own shoe brand: Nike. The struggles of Phil and his fellowships was so real and raw, and it made me continued to read and read in order to find out what they did to get over all the hurdles. The story brought up the spirits behind Nike, on hindsight, you can really see where those spirits and rebellion came from.

Both books offered insight and behind-the-scene of how a brand was created, how their identity was defined. For Starbucks it’s always about customer experiences, for Nike it’s all about winning. Both books were easy to read and digest, and I learnt a couple of things about business management along the way as well. Even if you are not a business person, these books were entertaining enough for you to read and get to know the brand better, that is if you are a fan of these brands.

在台湾旅行，逛着书店时，我发现了这本书。日文名字“本屋”虽然翻译上来是“书店”没错，但是其实作者比较想探讨的是独立书店的未来。在日本旅行时，不难发现商店街中偶尔会穿插着几间书店，有些小得只能挤入两三人，有些卖着新书，有些卖着二手书。在这大型连锁书店施虐的年代，这些独立书店是否还有存在的价值呢？它们存在的意义又是什么呢？那些成功生存的，它们的秘诀又会是什么呢？

书店是怎样的一个存在，书中提到的一个结论是心意与诚意的传达。书店老板和顾客交流，从中介绍他们一本书或一名作者；然后这份心意与诚意，这份温暖，从书店老板的手中传递给顾客，让他们也能够感受到那份温热。

另外，书店对店员与老板来说，就像是画家的画纸一样。这个角落应该摆放什么种类的书，这种类的书中又应该卖哪一本，该怎么摆放，该怎么让顾客注意到某本书，该怎么让顾客知道这是一本好书等等。这些都是一门学问。

透过观察一间书店，你就可以知道老板的细心程度，老板是否用心的想把那份“温暖”给传递下去。在新加坡，独立书店实在不多，但隐约记得我曾经光顾过一件挺有意思的（虽然现在已经没了），也许那时候我所感觉到的“有意思”，就是老板想传达的那份温暖吧？

这本书还讨论了整个从出版到销售的过程，也针对书店和书本的未来而进行了研究。电子书确实能够让阅读更普及化，简化出版过程与成本，但是它能够传承那份“温暖”吗？大型连锁书店只是跟着总部的指示摆卖书本，这能让顾客发现非主流的好书吗？书店会沦落成为一个枯燥乏味，单单只是贩卖书本的卖场吗？将来是否连这些枯燥乏味的连锁书店也会被淘汰？

我觉得不会，我也希望不会。我还想继续享受着在书店的架子间游走，那仿佛在寻觅宝藏的感觉。我还想闻到那书香，感受那手指翻阅着每一页章的感觉。希望无论是独立书店也好，连锁书店也好，也能够继续坚持营运下去。而我能够做的，也就是继续买书，继续阅读，然后透过这样的文章和大家分享，让那份温暖得以延续。