Less than two years after Shanghai's first 24-hour bookstore opened amid much fanfare, managers are preparing to either shut the shop down or move to another location.

"The store has been running at a deficit for a long time," said He Genxiang, general manager of Shanghai Century Scholar Books Co Ltd, which operates two other bookstores in the city.

The problems are a combination of a poor location, high rent, and the additional cost of staying open all day.

"The store's annual rent is 4.5 million yuan (US$542,169), which makes it very difficult to keep the business running," said He.

While the store received some customers overnight on the weekends, few people took advantage of the late night hours during the week, he said.

Located in Pudong Road S., the bookstore occupies 5,000 square meters including a coffee bar.

While the store has been a failure, the company still thinks a 24-hour bookstore is a good idea, and they are looking at opening a new outlet, in a smaller, cheaper location.

"(A 24-hour bookstore is) a symbol of a culturally rich metropolis. Shanghai is entitled to have such a bookstore, just like Chapters in Toronto and Eslite in Taipei," He said when the store fist opened in 2003.

Dong Jiangwei, a one-time customer of the store said he wasn't surprised it will fold up. "The location is not good. People who enjoy a good nightlife stay in Puxi. So it's pointless and impractical to run an around-the-clock bookstore in Pudong."

(Shanghai Daily March 10, 2005)