Dymocks Booksellers
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dymocks Booksellers is an Australian-founded privately owned bookstore chain, that also specialise in CDs, DVDs,
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
discs,
e-books An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...
and related merchandising. As of June 2022, the chain has about 50 stores in Australia.


History

The first Dymocks bookstore was opened in Sydney by William Dymock in 1879, in Market Street. As his business grew over the years, he moved to larger premises at 428 George Street, traded as Dymock's Book Arcade, and eventually had a million books in stock. As he had died childless and unmarried, the business passed to his sister, Marjory, who was married to John Forsyth. Since then, the Forsyth family has managed Dymocks. In 1922, the Dymock family purchased the site of the old Royal Hotel in George Street, and built the historic, Art Deco landmark Dymocks building, completed in 1930. In 1986 the bookstore chain was established as a franchise chain, and has since opened stores in every mainland Australian state, and also internationally in New Zealand and Singapore.


21st century

In addition to stocking music CDs, DVDs and other related items, Dymocks now has an
online store Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the ...
launched in late 2006 in response to the increasing penetration into the Australian book market of online retailers such as
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
. Dymocks has a comprehensive multi-channel strategy including an international retail network of approximately 65 stores in Australia: an online website, loyalty program, regular catalogues and social media. Dymocks also runs an Australia-wide program, Dymocks Children's Charities (DCC), providing books to pre-primary and primary school age children. Dymocks is the largest bookseller in Australia and currently holds close to 20% of the Australian book market. In October 2011, Dymocks launched D Publishing, a
self-publishing Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fro ...
platform which allowed authors to print, publish and distribute their own books and ebooks. The venture was shut down in March 2013. In September 2023, personal information of 1.24 million Dymocks customers were shared on the
dark web The dark web is the World Wide Web content that exists on darknets ( overlay networks) that use the Internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorization to access. Through the dark web, private computer networks can communica ...
after a cybersecurity breach.


Outside Australia


New Zealand

The last Dymocks store in New Zealand closed down in September 2012 as they chose to exit that market.


Hong Kong

In 1999, Dymocks Booksellers entered into a joint venture with
South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...
(Holdings) to set up Dymocks Franchise Systems (China), in order to expand the Dymocks chain into Hong Kong. The first store with the Dymocks brand opened at the Star Ferry concourse in Central in 1999. Three Dymocks stores closed in 2012 in Hong Kong when their rental contracts expired. It was announced in January 2015 that Dymocks would close its flagship IFC Mall store on 25 January, and that it would subsequently close its Hong Kong office. After the closure of the IFC Mall store, the number of Dymocks stores in Hong Kong would be brought down to five. The remaining stores operated independently using the Dymocks name before being rebranded individually.


Book of the year

Each year Dymocks invites its booksellers to nominate "their favourite title that was published within the last year" and a single title is chosen as "Dymocks Book of the Year". A separate "Young Readers' Book of the Year" was also chosen in 2022 and 2023.


Winners


Loyalty program

Dymocks has a loyalty program called 'Dymocks Booklover Rewards', originally launched in 2001, and relaunched in 2006.


Other businesses

Dymocks Properties is the real estate arm of Dymocks. Its portfolio includes commercial buildings, farms and land. In 2009, Dymocks acquired an 80% equity stake in the Australian owned and operated Healthy Habits sandwich bar franchise for an undisclosed sum. Healthy Habits was sold by Dymocks in June 2016 to Franchised Food Co. In 2010, Dymocks acquired Victorian confectionery manufacturer Patons Macadamia. The company's products were sold in Dymocks stores. In 2015, Patons acquired Gourmet Nut Company. Dymocks sold Patons in 2020 to focus on its other businesses. In 2015, Dymocks Holdings acquired Telegram Paper Goods. Founded in 2008, Telegram Paper Goods distributes designer stationery brands across Australia and New Zealand. Telegram is best known for its stationery store, Milligram (formerly Notemaker.com.au), that sells eclectic and designer stationery, cards, wrap, diaries, journals, and fine writing instruments. Telegram acquired homeware and body care brand Addition Studio in February 2023. In 2018, Dymocks launched an education and
tutoring Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
business called Potentia. The business was rebranded Dymocks Tutoring in 2020.


See also

*
List of oldest companies in Australia This list of oldest businesses and companies in Australia includes businesses, whether incorporated or organised in a different form (such as a partnership). However, the list excludes non-commercial associations and educational, governmental, or ...


References


External links


Dymocks Booksellers main Australian pageDymocks historyDymocks Group website
{{Authority control Australian companies established in 1879 Book publishing companies of Australia Bookshops of Australia Bookshops of Hong Kong Retail companies established in 1879