«Dom Knigi» is a regional book retailer in Nizhny Novgorod with several stores across the city, located at Sovetskaya St., 14; Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street, 19; Kazanskoe Shosse, 6; Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street, 82; and Lenin Avenue, 33.In 2025, their revenue amounted to 110 million, representing a 13% decrease in income. The brand’s efficiency and financial stability are rated as low.
Project Context
Как сейчас выглядит книжный рынок?
Studies of the book market in recent years demonstrate that the perception of bookstores has changed in the modern world. Because people can purchase a book anytime and anywhere on a marketplace, a visit to a bookstore must now be motivated by something other than the act of purchasing a book.Looking at the market structure, online stores and marketplaces already account for 39,6% of the total volume of the book industry, whereas traditional bookstores and chains account for 27,7%.
Issues
С какими проблемами сталкивается бренд сейчас?
[1] The brand’s revenue has noticeably declined in recent years.
[2] The website for online retail is currently non-operational, and the brand is also not represented as a store on marketplaces, which reduces profit levels.
[3] For many residents of Nizhny Novgorod, the «Book Houses» locations appear different and do not present themselves as a unified network of bookstores; furthermore, the navigation and segmentation are noticeably fragmented.
[4] A large assortment is no longer an advantage—according to research, only 18,6% of visitors specifically come to the bookstore for the wide selection. Marketplaces have displaced this factor from the values system of book readers.
Goal: To reimagine the «Dom Knigi» brand as a literary space for Nizhny Novgorod, strengthening its emotional value, and establishing a new reason to choose the physical store over a marketplace.
[1] Identify new interaction scenarios between the audience and the bookstore [2] Define a new brand role [3] Develop an omnichannel experience [4] Determine the visual identity solution for the brand [5] Implementation of the solution
Target Audience
На какую аудиторию теперь фокусируется бренд?
We can segment the target audience by their motivation for visiting the bookstore.
The Pleasure of Browsing; 50% Young people often note that what attracts them to a bookstore is the ability to physically touch the book and enjoy exploring the shelves.Community Connection; 25% Reading is linked to social and cultural engagement: regular readers are more likely to attend cultural events, pursue creative activities, and socialize.Control Over Choice; 25% 44% consider it important that they can easily find the book they need, while 50% find the store’s navigation and segmentation functionality to be a crucial factor.
I can buy any book I need online faster and cheaper, but I want more than just to receive the book—I want to browse it and experience it tactilely, thereby immersing myself in the atmosphere of the establishment and gaining an emotional and cultural experience.
Competitors
Competitors are analyzed based on segmentation: the motivation to visit a bookstore for the pleasure of choice. Indirect competitors address other areas of segmentation.
Benchmarks
Brand solution
Новое позиционирование и рыночная возможность
Let’s transform the store’s concept from a simple book purchase into a full cultural experience:
To turn the «Book House» from a place people visit with the specific intent of buying a book into a space for cultural events, community interaction, and cultivating personal taste. This is especially timely for Nizhny Novgorod, as the city lacks genuine cultural book spaces, not just bookshops. The project’s main benchmarks are all located in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.Opportunity to occupy a city book space that unites cultural events with the sale of a wide assortment of literature
Brand Platform
Vision To become an urban literary space that unites the acquisition of cultural experience and the discovery of literatureMission To help people find their books, new ideas, and community through an open library space and cultural events.Values Culture, community, locality, openness, trustCharacter Intellectual, open, inquisitiveEssence A place people come to for experiences
