Booktopia’s new owner: “Not here to throw out the baby with the bathwater”

Following this week’s announcement that the founder and owner of DigiDirect, Shant Kradjian, won the bid for failed ASX-listed Booktopia, Inside Retail asked Kradjian about his interest in acquiring the business, his plans to restore the brand to its former glory and how he will approach the inevitable challenges.

Inside Retail: Why was Booktopia the ideal next business to add to your portfolio alongside DigiDirect?

Shant Kradjian: Adding Booktopia to my portfolio was a natural decision for several reasons. For one, I’ve always believed in growth through diversification. This has served me well while expanding categories at DigiDirect from photo and video to broader consumer electronics and investing beyond retail businesses into verticals as vast as property, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, and equities.

Also, my career has been deeply rooted in the digital retail space, especially within niche markets, so Booktopia felt like a perfect fit, given my background. As a company founded in the Australian e-commerce landscape around the same time as DigiDirect, I have keenly observed and celebrated Booktopia’s service to the book publishing industry, while my business was charting a similar path within the photography landscape. We both served creative customers, just with different products. This means entrenched communities with unique demands that specialty focus can best serve.

As a keen observer of Booktopia, I am now the privileged holder of its keys. The company has a dedicated customer base, a broad distribution network, and a solid market share in the book industry. These assets, coupled with a little strategic refinement, hint at a real opportunity for success.

Another crucial factor for me was the chance to keep Booktopia Australian-owned and operated. Maintaining our cultural assets within the country has intrinsic value, and it motivated me to take on the challenge of revitalising this important brand.

IR: What do you think set you apart from the other parties that bid on Booktopia?

SK: Firstly, my deals team and I were very focused on our own bid. We promised ourselves we would not be distracted or guided by others and decided to carve an offering that focused on the value sets that define us. This is why we focused on all the impacted stakeholder groups that would have been reeling from Booktopia going into administration, and seeing how we could make as many of them feel like their concerns were being addressed with our offer.

Our competitive advantage might have been my deep understanding of the e-commerce landscape. I’ve learned that success in digital retail goes beyond just focusing on financial outcomes; it’s about building a brand that truly connects with its audience, meets their needs, and stays ahead of evolving trends.

I’m also deeply committed to preserving Booktopia’s unique identity as a champion of Australian literature, as Australia’s ‘Home of Books’. For me, this isn’t just about acquiring a business; it’s about investing in the future of Australian literature and culture, servicing the community that makes this possible — from authors, publishers, suppliers, staff, customers, academia, media and beyond.

IR: What was the value and possibility that you saw in Booktopia despite its financial turmoil?

SK: Booktopia’s value is evident in its strong brand recognition and loyal customer base, which was never in question. Our questions about the fundamentals of the business were quickly answered in the affirmative during our due diligence process. The deeper we looked, the more we were impressed that this was a business with strong revenues and solid margins, with customers and relationships that were willing to support a sustainable growth plan.

The state-of-the-art robotic warehouse is another significant asset. This facility can process orders at high efficiency, and with some targeted improvements, we can optimise it further to reduce costs and enhance margins. There are opportunities in this asset being used across my other businesses also in the future, including DigiDirect.

I saw a tremendous opportunity to stabilise and elevate the business by applying growth strategies similar to those I used at DigiDirect. This means focusing on customer experience, boosting operational efficiency, and leveraging technology to create a competitive advantage.

IR: Could you elaborate on how you are looking to return Booktopia to its past glories and continue growing?

SK: Returning the business to its past glories is about returning Booktopia to basics, when the business was about smartly buying a wide range of books, marketing those books, selling those books, fulfilling the orders and providing exemplary customer service. We want to return Booktopia to the revenue base of its last year before VA, consistently processing 10,000-20,000 orders a day.

While we work on this restoration with a back-to-basics strategy, we will lean on our awesome staff, customers and supplier community to see where the growth opportunities lie. We will invest and invest again until we realise those opportunities.

IR: How are you planning to avoid some of the pitfalls Booktopia’s previous leadership ran into?

SK: The previous Booktopia leadership did plenty of good and some bad. We will benefit from the good and repeat a lot of it. We will learn from the not-so-good.

IR: Are there any lessons you’ve learned from founding and scaling DigiDirect that you will apply to the running of Booktopia?

SK: From my experience with DigiDirect, one of the most important lessons is the value of building a strong brand supported by operational excellence. It’s crucial to create a brand that stands for quality, reliability, and expertise in its field.

Another key lesson is the importance of earning and maintaining customer trust and loyalty. This means consistently delivering on promises — whether that’s accurate stock listings, timely deliveries, or exceptional customer service. Applying these principles to Booktopia will be vital in reviving the brand and driving future growth.

IR: What are some of the challenges you foresee in taking over the company and how will employing former Booktopians assist in that transition phase?

SK: Taking over a company with a storied history like Booktopia comes with its own set of challenges, particularly in rebuilding customer trust after previous financial and operational issues. This will require a comprehensive approach to improving every aspect of the customer experience, and past players in the company are key to us learning lessons before living them.

We are halfway through bringing in around 100 new staff members, to aid in this transition. Booktopians have been applying, and many are joining. We are not here to throw out the baby with the bathwater. People make companies. People make commerce. We will focus on our people and this will help us achieve commercial success.

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