November 2, 2025 | 12:00am
Listening and leading
MANILA, Philippines — It all boils down to listening — to your employees, to your patrons, to the market.
That, says Joshua Emmanuel Sison, is the biggest lesson he has learned after more than a year at the helm of Booksale Philippines, one of the country’s oldest and most beloved bargain bookstore chains.
For Sison, leading Booksale means more than just running a business — it’s about honoring a legacy. As a millennial executive, he knows he must blend fresh ideas with the decades-long wisdom of Booksale’s loyal employees and customers to guide the company into its next chapter.
A year ago, Booksale announced it was entering a “new chapter” as it embraces innovative ways to stay true to its mission: making reading affordable and accessible to every Filipino. That vision remains, even as the company navigates the economic headwinds of today’s retail landscape.
“I hope to merge these ideas to create a bigger one that will benefit everyone. I cannot do that without listening to our employees, to the people on the ground and to the market,” Sison, the president of Visual Mix Inc., which runs all Booksale stores nationwide, tells The STAR.
Being at the helm of the firm has been eye-opening for Sison, especially as he gains a deeper understanding of the challenges facing the local book industry and the country’s reading culture today.
“We really see the problem when it comes to literacy,” he says. “You notice it when sales go down even if the shelves are full and all the promotions are in place. You realize it’s tied to the country’s economic situation, as people choose to spend their money elsewhere.”
“I have known those problems before but this time I have seen the numbers and it talks to me,” he adds.
Sison points out that the proliferation of counterfeit books remains the biggest challenge for firms like theirs, as these items are sold below market prices but at the expense of product quality. This not only affects bargain bookstores like Booksale but also disrespects the hard work of authors, he says.
“These counterfeit books are all over the place, even online,” Sison says.
“Traditional companies really need to catch up and it is not a question of when but a question of how. I really want to stick to the vision of the company of affordable reading and literacy and to combat all the problems we have,” he adds.
Booksale plans to expand its promotion of local Filipino authors and is even “optimistic” of opening at least one new branch next year at its 40th anniversary celebration.
The firm is lining up activities this year and next that are aimed at strengthening Booksale’s connection with the reading public.
The biggest bargain book store nationwide wants to do its Suking Aklatan project “at a bigger scale” to provide more small and independent Filipino authors with a platform to showcase their works.
The project allows local authors to sell their works at Booksale branches in dedicated shelves while having their digital copies or ebooks sold through the REKO app.
Sison shares that Visual Mix is keen on opening at least one branch next year depending on the company’s overall performance this year. Sison said they draw the “optimism” to open a new branch from the sustained support for its customers and growing demand for books.
“We are definitely looking at it. There is a huge clamor from the public to open new branches,” he says.
“Hopefully next year we will be able to open at least one new branch. That is us being optimistic, we are just starting to recover and we are very glad that we are still alive (after Covid-19 pandemic),” he adds.
Late last year, Booksale shuttered some of its branches as part of its transition to a new chapter. Booksale currently has 36 branches nationwide.
Since last year, patrons of Booksale have persistently commented on the store’s Facebook page, urging it to bring back some of its closed branches.
Booksale is also considering venturing into online live selling to reach more “younger” customers and to continue to cater to its existing clientele, especially those in areas without an existing store branch, Sison says.
“We are talking to the platforms already. It is in the pipeline,” he says.
Booksale is also exploring rolling-out a sit-down interview series titled “Anong Kuwentong Booksale Mo?” (What is your Booksale story?) that will feature some of its loyal customers and even employees who have been part of the company since its inception, Sison says.
“We want to hear their stories and make them the heroes of our anniversary because they are the reason why we are here. The loyal support for booksale is overwhelming – is from all walks of life, from all ages,” he says.
“A lot of our employees today started with us from day one and we also want to put a spotlight on them,” he adds.
Sison says Booksale is holding a series of sales and promotions to celebrate its 40th year that started off with a month-long warehouse bargain sale in October at its Pedro Gil branch where customers can buy books for as low as P5 each.
This month, Booksale is bringing its bargain sale dubbed as ReadVember at Fiesta Carnival in Cubao, Quezon City where bibliophiles can buy books for as low as P5 each.
