ABOUT BOOKS FIRST

Books First was started 6 years ago in response to the recognition that Kenyans loved reading but that there were not enough bookshops across the country to service their requirement. The entire focus of Books First is to satisfy the requirements of those who are “mad about books”. That is why Books First shies away from school and curriculum books (books that have, unfortunately, turned off many Kenyans from the thrill of recreational reading).

Instead Books First carries the largest selection of fiction and non fiction books available locally. The latest best-sellers, motivational books, biographies, business and management, sales and marketing, romance books are available. The magical world of Children’s books is another focus area for Books First...from books that introduce the love of reading to very young readers to the latest bestsellers for teenagers.

Books First works very closely with Nakumatt and Tusky’s – in fact, the opportunity to bring quality bookshops across Kenya has been vigorously supported by these supermarket chains with Books First stores available at many of the supermarket’s outlets.

Books First, which also operates a chain of restaurants under the brand “Sherlock’s Den” employs 450 indigenous Kenyan staff members in 17 bookstores and 10 restaurants across Kenya…from Nairobi, Mombasa to Meru. The Books First brand is a well-established and instantly recognizable name in Kenya.

ABOUT BOOKS FIRST ONLINE

Books First Online (www.booksfirst.co.ke) was developed in 2008 from the need to reach a wider cross section of book lovers who cherish convenience and also from the recognition that the world was moving towards a technology-oriented operating environment where brick-and-mortar stores have largely been replaced in the developed world by mega online bookstores such as Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and Waterstones.com

Booksfirst.co.ke is an elegantly designed online version of the normal Books First store found anywhere in Kenya which benchmarks against world-class online stores such as Amazon.com. Among the website features are:

· It carries hundreds of titles mainly aimed at business executives in categories such as ‘Management”, “Investing & Finance”, "Marketing" and many others. Due to slow internet connections for most Kenyan users, we do not list all our titles on the website.

· Features a fully-featured ecommerce shopping cart software for online ordering

· Customers can browse books by author or search by keywords, book titles and ISBN numbers

· Customers can view book’s cover image, description and price when browsing

· Customers are able to “Dial-A-Book” by selecting books online and calling for a delivery

· Customers can order in different currencies and also ‘shop by price”

· Payment can be made via MPESA, cash on delivery, cheques and bank deposit

· Customers can read and write book reviews

· Customers can see book recommendations by Books First based on their book choices as well as see what other customers with similar taste bought.

· Customers can see bestseller lists for all books as well as bestsellers per category

· Customers can view new arrivals, specials and featured books

· Customers can subscribe to the Books First newsletter and receive regular updates via email

· Customers each get a personal account with order history, order tracking and wishlists

· Customers are able to participate in various promotions and competitions run online as well as access value-added information such as Author biographies and Book Clubs