In case you haven't noticed, the little used bookshop around the corner has some serious competition. The new kids on the block are so spacious, brightly lit and spotlessly clean that they could easily be mistaken for convenience stores.
In the business world, the secondhand book mega-emporiums stand out as success stories. Three of the major chains have between them already opened more than 800 stores nationwide.
A pioneer in this field is Book Off Corp., which this year celebrates its 10th year in business as well as the opening of its 575th outlet. Last year it opened a store in New York, its second overseas outlet after Hawaii. Its sales for fiscal 2000 were reportedly a staggering 13 billion yen.