Ep 145: Are You a Masochistic Book Lover? | Kenny Chan (ex-diplomat & ex-Senior Director at Kinokuniya Book Stores (Asia Pacific)‪)‬ So This Is My Why

“Are you a masochist?”

“Do you love books that much?”

If you want to be a bookseller, than those are the questions you need to ask yourself - according to Kenny Chan, the former Senior Director at Kinokuniya Book Stores (Asia Pacific) - he spent ~20 years of his career there prior to his retirement!

But prior to bookseller, Kenny was a foreign diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore, where he was posted to London as their Trade and Culture Attache.

He then switched to bookselling, first at Popular Holdings Limited, then MPH Bookstores Sdn Bhd, and back again at Popular when they launched their IPO!

And finally interviewed for a position at Kinokuniya.

The President & Chairman of Kinokuniya flew from Japan to Singapore to conduct the interview and asked Kenny just one question:

“Do you love books?”

As it turns out, Kenny gave me the exact answer he was looking for!

And even after retirement, Kenny remains deep in the bookselling world.

If you haven’t already guessed it, Kenny is the latest guest on STIMY!

And we dive deep into all things books & the art of evangelising.

❓Why does Kenny not judge people by their educational level?

❓Why did he initially become a foreign diplomat?

❓What was it like opening bookstores throughout Asia Pacific, Dubai and New York?

❓What was it like working at his dream company?

❓What is the secret to buying books & why is bookselling a spiritual experience?

❓How can aspiring authors can get Kenny’s attention?

Are you intrigued yet?

The YouTube version is out now too. 😎

Highlights:

1:01 The Punisher
1:50 Don’t judge people by their level of education
2:59 Do your best in everything that you touch
3:58 My education was a roller-coaster
5:31 Didn't want to be a bookseller!
7:56 Getting into foreign affairs
9:51 Hunted down a book for Lee Kuan Yew & the power of connections
11:35 Lee Kuan Yew was a hard task master
14:54 Life isn't fair
18:32 How to get rid of inventory/books for bookstores
20:21 Leaving Popular for MPH
21:00 Introducing comics & Sanrio (Hello Popular) to Singapore
22:12 How Kenny knew it was time to bring Hello Kitty in
24:07 Memorable stories
26:43 What was it like working in his dream company?
27:46 Becoming store manager of the MPH Stamford Bookstore
28:22 You need to be a dictator
32:22 A great success
36:23 The IPO
37:11 The secret behind buying books & working at Popular
41:29 Moving to Kinokuniya
43:03 Meeting
43:30 The 1 question asked by the President & Chairman of Kinokuniya from Japan
44:44 Working with someone who doesn’t understand English
46:09 The spiritual aspect of book selling
47:01 Opening a store in Dubai
48:16 Love of books
49:13 The Kinovirus & training to become a great bookseller
50:45 The Speech
52:05 Biggest achievements while at Kinokuniya
54:44 Kinokuniya isn’t a bookstore. It’s a lifestyle choice
56:15 The importance of building a brand
58:51 The Twin Lemons Act
59:50 Getting Kenny’s attention
1:00:25 Ask a bookseller, what questions should you ask yourself?


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🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/1uCeI8LOI5Y

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/145

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