Expographic Books Private Limited

“Expographic” seems to establish a confluence of ideas, and certainly, “graphic design” was not far from the original purpose and concept behind the setting up of this company. It was formed within the modest confines of the Pettah in the central commercial hub of the capital, Colombo, and was intended to be a printing establishment which would, in time, acquire a large printing press. This was at the initiative of Mr.Leelananda Fonseka, who started Expographic in the year 1985/86. The following year, Mr.Fonseka and Mr. Ranjith Samaranayake, who had been good friends for more than a decade, decided to form a partnership that was to extend the scope and range of Expographic from being a printer to also encompass aspects of Bookselling and Book Publishing. This impetus was on account of Mr. Ranjith Samaranayake continuing to be the Publisher of his late father’s famous volumes, English with a Smile and Practical English, which for nearly half a century were being widely used as English language textbooks in Sri Lanka. In 1987, with their partnership in place, Mr.Samaranayake suggested to Mr.Fonseka that they start a bookshop, as he was already a book distributor and a publisher. At the time, Mr Samaranayake had his base for operations at his paternal home in Polgahawela and was on the lookout for a distribution point in Colombo to stock his father’s books. Pettah and “Expographic” looked to be the most promising, as it was located in the commercial hub of Colombo, where all the regional traders would come to purchase their requirements. On Seka readily agreed and invited Mr Samaranayake to move some of his stocks to this office. This was the first phase in this new venture. Mr Samaranayake would travel two or three times a week to this office, which boasted of no more than a single table, two chairs, and a small cupboard. His trade clients (i.e., other Bookshops) were informed of this new address, at which small orders were processed and distributed. This became a sales point for English with a Smile and Practical English at the beginning.Samaranayake also began distributing imported school books, which he purchased from established importers such as All Ceylon Distributors, MacCallum’s Bookshop, and Lake House Book Shop, while retaining a small profit margin. These were mainly textbooks and volumes such as Oxford Dictionaries, Radiant Way, Ronald Ridout ‘Work Books’, Active English, and Lady Bird’s‘ Work Books’. Since Mr.Samaranayake’s was already a ‘recognized name’ in the trade as a result of being the publisher and distributor of his father’s text books, he was accepted amongst the fraternity of booksellers and had little trouble in continuing to supply an ever expanding stock of text books which he imported and distributed all over the country from north to south and in between. These were the foundations of a later rapid expansion. So it was that printing and graphic designing receded into the background, and the identity of Expographic saw a sea change and became better established in the book business, which in time became its major focus. Selling imported books was not an easy venture, since the profit margins were necessarily low, unless direct imports from overseas publishers were affected. Financing purchases was difficult at the time, and it was not easy to obtain support from the banking establishment. However, with their pooled resources, albeit modest in the extreme, Messrs. Fonseka and Samaranayake ordered their first consignment direct from Allied Publishers, Delhi, in mid-1987. Credit was not accepted by publishers abroad, and some were unwilling even to deal on cash terms with ‘unknown’ Sri Lankan buyers! Developing an identity as a retail book shop housed on the second floor of a multi-level building complex was a challenge, although wholesale distribution was being handled apace. There was just the one paid employee. But Expographics strove to move out to the different cities, holding exhibitions and sales to popularize its portfolio and successfully attempted to establish a name for itself. These were in major towns such as Kegalle, Kurunegala, Gampaha, Galle, and Negombo, and in the Universities. Exhibitions were started in the 1990’s which continued over a period of 5 to 6 years.Gradually, more people came to know of and visit the Expographic Book shop in the Pettah. More imports of books other than those which were school books were secured. In time, though, the trend was more in the direction of general books, academic, professional, and reference books. Limited attempts were also made to visit other retail bookshops around the island to popularize selected titles and make retailers aware of the increased range of books which were being stocked and sold by Expographic. This process was somewhat difficult to sustain on account of its own particular logistics.In the early ‘90s, the company’s policy was altered, and it was decided that they would henceforth concentrate on academic books, focusing mainly on engineering, computer science and management, and other similar subject matter, and thereby capture a sizeable portion of this specialist retail market, which appeared to be very promising.Book Exhibitions were held in Universities such as Moratuwa, Kelaniya, Ruhuna, Peradeniya, Sri Jayawardanepura, at the Open University of Sri Lanka, and at the Colombo campus. In 1994, we were invited to open a shop within the precincts of the University of Moratuwa by its Vice Chancellor. Currently, we enjoy the highest market share in Engineering, Computer Science, Social Science, and Management books.With the opening of the new flagship store in Pelawatta Battaramulla, with over 5000 square feet of retail space, the company has diversified into retailing book-related products such as stationery, educational toys, laboratory equipment, and greeting cards. The company has also extended its operations in Kandy with outlets in Dalada Veediya and the University of Peradeniya. Mr.Ranjith Samaranayake, who is the Managing Director of Expographic Books Pvt Ltd, is a Past President of both the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association and the Ceylon Booksellers Importers and Exporters Association.