People flocked Eslite's first bookstore on the Chinese mainland on its opening day in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, at the end of 2015. [Photo/China Daily]

"Providing information alone is clearly not enough to attract readers to step into bookstores nowadays. Eslite is trying to deliver a lifestyle and a great feeling worthy of humans. I hope everyone can reexamine and redefine their lives after spending some time reading at Eslite," said Robert Wu, founder of Eslite Bookstore.

By lifestyle, Wu's reference is related to Eslite's weekly culinary events and such activities. Customers can even buy tea sets besides tea-related books.

Eslite tends to sublet part of the prime real estate where its outlets are housed. So it offers a sort of package deal to visitors: Not only do they get to buy or read books but they could also hop across to fashion stores, and shops selling cultural and creative products next door, or even tuck into snacks at restaurants in the same complex.

Thus, Eslite has found a way to make profits in spite of being essentially a physical bookstore in the online era.

Confident that its model will deliver profits, Eslite plans to open another three branches this year. The Shanghai store will be joined by one each in Heilongjiang province, Hong Kong and Kaohsiung.