A Quick Tour to the Crossword book stores, Bengaluru

Crossword, positioned as a lifestyle bookstore, has been able to change this by designing large, spacious, well laid out stores, with bright cheerful interiors that encourage people to stay and browse. Simple innovations such as methodical classifications, clear signage, a dedicated enquiry /orders desk, electronic POS and inventory control systems and attractive displays make looking for books a much more pleasurable experience. A welcoming café, reading tables and chairs and toilets within the store, (some of the innovations pioneered by Crossword in India) help to ensure that customers are able to browse in comfort for several hours without having to
Products and services:
Crossword also addresses a wider audience than existing stores with its unique product mix. There is of course, the widest range of books for the young and old alike, along with magazines, CD-ROMs, music, stationery and toys. With its large children's section and its focus on making the store a friendly, safe, fun-filled place, Crossword attracts many families who normally don't think of visiting bookstores. Services like Dial-a-book, Fax-a-book and Email-a-book enable customers to shop from their homes; and when they come to the store, the unobtrusively helpful staffs assist them in finding the right book, the right CD or the right gift for the right occasion. Facilities like the Crossword Gift Vouchers, the friendly 'Return, Exchange & Refunds' policy, the Cafes within the stores and the unique store experience make it easy and enjoyable for customers to shop at Crossword. Over 1,00,000 loyal customers are rewarded through the Crossword Book Rewards Program with points, discounts, promotional offers and more. 'eWords', a monthly e-newsletter with reviews of new books, news about in store events and bestseller lists, is currently mailed to these Members.
Crossword as a center for the community:
Crossword aims to be a point of cultural and social interaction where authors and poets hold court, where children are regaled, where people gravitate to be informed, to be entertained, even enlightened. There are regular readings, discussions and debates on varied subjects from literature and art to child sexual abuse, war and peace, business and management, travel, parenting and health.Among the numerous writers who have visited the store are Sir V S Naipaul, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Chandra, Vikram Seth, Kiran Nagarkar, Andrew Motion, Michele Roberts, Shashi Tharoor, Shobhaa De, Charles Handy, Ricardo Semler and Jack Canfield. Promotional events include pictionary contests, quizzes, slide shows and the annual affair with Santa and his elves. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull came for a signing, so did Macho Man Randy Savage, the WWF champion.
Promoting books, writers and the reading habit
Crossword launched the Crossword Book Award in 1998 to recognise and reward the best of Indian writing. There was one cash prize of Rs 200,000 in 1998 for the best original work of fiction in English by an Indian author, and it was won by Allan Sealy for The Everest Hotel.
In 1999 we added a new category: Indian Language Fiction Translation into English and we also increased the cash prize to Rs.300,000 for each category. The 1999 prize for the best work in English Fiction went to Vikram Seth for An Equal Music. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was won by the author M. Mukundan and the translator Gita Krishnankutty, for On the Banks of the Mayyazhi.
The 2000 prize for the best work in English Fiction went to Jamyang Norbu for The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was won by the author Bama and the translator Lakshmi Holmstrom, for Karukku.The Hutch Crossword Book Award 2004 for the best work in English Fiction went to Amitav Ghosh for The Hungry Tide. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was won by the author Chandrasekhar Rath and the translator Jatindra Kumar Nayak for Astride the Wheel: Yantrarudha.
The Hutch Crossword Book Award 2005 for the best work in English Fiction went to Salman Rushdie for Shalimar the Clown. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was won by the author Krishna Sobti and the translators Reema Anand & Meenakshi Swami for The Heart has its Reasons. The prize for the best work in the English Non-Fiction category was won by the author Suketu Mehta for Maximum City: Bombay Lost & Found.
The Hutch Crossword Book Award 2006 for the best work in English Fiction went to Vikram Chandra for Sacred Games. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was jointly won by the author C.S. Lakshmi (Ambai) and the translator Lakshmi Holmstrom for In a Forest, A Deer and the author M.Mukundan and the translator A.J. Thomas for 'Kesavan's Lamentations'. The prize for the best work in the English Non-Fiction category was won by the author Vikram Seth for Two Lives.
Recognition:
Since its inception in 15th October 1992, Crossword has received wide recognition for its achievements; articles on retailing in India invariably feature Crossword. It has been featured in Advertising Age International, USA, as one of the Marketing Superstars for 1994. The Bookseller, UK, has also described it as 'being on the cutting edge of retailing' in India.Crossword won the Retailer of the Year Award - Leisure (Books, Music and Gifts Category) at the Images Retail Awards 2007 and 2005.
Crossword was ranked the 6th most admired retailer in India by Businessworld for the year 2006; it was the only book retailer in the top 10.
Crossword won the Reid & Taylor Award for Best Retailer of the year - Leisure & Specialty at the India Retail Summit 2005
Crossword received the Federation of Indian Publishers Award for excellence in Publishing for the year 2004 on 18th June 2005 at the hands of Shri Arjun Singh, Minister of Human Resource Development.
The Promoters:
Crossword Bookstores Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary Company of Shopper's Stop Ltd - India's leading department store chain. The Holding Company inter-alia also acts as a Master Franchisee of the Company.
The Crossword chain :
Crossword, with fifty-four stores, across Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Pune, Nagpur, Vadodara, Kolkata, Chennai, Jaipur and Hyderabad as on today is India's fastest growing chain of bookstores.
We could go on. But Crossword is really much more than words can tell.