Lessons for new owner as it inks a fresh chapter for Crossword

Last year, Covid-19 hit book sales - albeit not publishing per se - with the lockdown months shutting out physical retail altogether

Crossword Bookstores has turned the page to start a new chapter with books at the centre of it, its new owner has promised.

The bookstore chain, made ubiquitous by its outlets in shopping centres and premium retail spaces in big cities across India, has just changed hands after fashion retailer Shoppers Stop sold a controlling stake to Pune-based franchisee Agarwal Business House (ABH) for Rs 41.6 crore.

The iconic brand started out as a set of stores in Mumbai, with the first in the upmarket Kemps Corner on October 15, 1992. The bookstore chain was begun by serial entrepreneurs R Sriram and