New chapter: Perey's Books sells recent releases

Second-hand shop Perey's Books is branching into the new book market to counter a "sad" dearth of sellers in Wollongong.The city has been without a traditional bookstore since July 12 last year when Angus & Robertson closed on Crown St Mall and was replaced by a discounter.Perey's, a 20-year-old specialist in antiquarian and second-hand books, has begun selling recent releases from the University of Wollongong's Unishop, including text books and top-20 independent titles.Owner Jo Abrantes said the decision was intended to bring new business to Perey's, which had operated at a loss in recent years.The absence of a dedicated bookshop was a sad reflection on the city, she said. "I thought at least one [new] bookstore would stay. I think it's very sad with the university and the TAFE and all the educational institutions we have here."Perey's opened on lower Crown St in 1992 under owner Elizabeth Perey, who sold the business to Ms Abrantes in 2003.Development forced the business to its present premises, on Keira St, in 2005, about the time internet sales started to eat into face-to-face book sales.Perey's had been operating at a loss for years, but had begun breaking even since the closure of Angus & Robinson, when customers headed to the store to order new titles, Ms Abrantes said.Ms Abrantes, a qualified electrical engineer and lecturer at the University of Wollongong, has opened Perey's for limited hours but will soon retire from the university and trade from 2pm-8pm Monday to Friday and 10am-5pm Saturdays, perhaps selling coffee and cakes and converting the store's middle shelves to a long table with chairs.She said she would not consider walking away from books despite the challenges facing the industry, most noticeably from online competition."It's always been a dream of mine to have a book shop," she said. "I love to talk to people about books and love to pack up the boxes and send them out to anywhere in the world [including] Georgia [in Europe] and Japan. We provide a service you can't get online."Wollongong's Angus & Robertson was owned by REDgroup, which closed its stores after struggling with $118 million in debt. The city had earlier lost its Dymocks store.In Wollongong, new books are still available from the mall's ABC Shop, Myer and David Jones.