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DELANO ADVERTORIAL
"ESPRIT LIVRE" EXPANDS FOR ENGLISH READERS With over 125 years’ experience, Ernster recently opened its first all English bookshop in the heart of the city centre. We speak with Fernand Ernster & Tania Steffen about its success. C ongratulations on the opening of your new “All English Bookstore”! How long has this been an idea in the making? Fernand Ernster: “I’ve actually been thinking about doing this for more than ten years. One of our German book suppliers has excellent logistics, and he had made an offer to me for selling English books. I’d always liked places such as the Orell Füssli English bookshop in Zurich, and I really wanted to create a similar place in Luxembourg. When we had the opportunity to rent the space on rue de la Reine, I proposed the idea to my employees but at the time not everyone was ready for the concept. But the timing now was right, and our employees backed me in this very important step. English speakers -- be they from England, the U.S. or elsewhere -- often have their own well-established communities, and we need to create entrances into those communities through things such as reading circles. We also find we have non-native English speakers coming to the bookshop as well, since many use English as a second language. And with our central location we are also seeing a good number of tourists in the shop. People have been happy to come to a place where they can find books in a language they are fluent in.” Tell us a bit about the collection of books you offer. Are there any special editions or other speciality items available? F.E.: “We do have special suppliers for coffee table books, of course, but we also have what we call ‘special interest books’ such as books on design, lifestyle, history and art. Furthermore, we’re Summer 2015
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A. Fernand Ernster & Tania Steffen inside the bookshop B. A wide range of titles and genres is available C. Clients include native and nonnative English speakers D. The store is conveniently located in the city centre E. Visitors are encouraged to browse and discover new genres
well connected with distributors, and if we don’t have a title in our shop, if it is available within our network, we can normally get the book within 24 hours -- that’s faster even than most online services these days.” Tania Steffen: “We are trying to expand the non-books section as well and are always open to customer feedback and recommendations. With the Christmas markets approaching in a few months, we also will be offering ideas for gifts. We’ve been exploring the idea of offering teas, for example, as we think it’s great when customers can stay
and browse a bit; sometimes they even discover a new genre they may not have previously been interested in.” Mr. Ernster, your family has a long history in the bookselling business. What, in your opinion, makes a great bookshop? F.E.: “A great bookshop is a place where people would prefer to buy books in person over purchasing them online. It’s a place that attracts people with similar interests -- and a passion for books should be common to all of us. If you have planned a get together with friends, instead of meeting at a