Dubai: Up to 75% off as Big Bad Wolf sale returns on April 7; books starting from Dh2

The world's biggest book sale will offer discounts of up to 75 per cent on over 1 million books with some titles starting from as low as Dh2

Nasreen Abdulla

Published: Tue 4 Apr 2023, 7:14 PM

Last updated: Thu 6 Apr 2023, 8:15 PM

The world’s biggest book sale, the Big Bad Wolf (BBW), is back for its fifth edition this year. The sale which will run from April 7 to 16 will offer discounts of up to 75 per cent on over 1 million books with some titles starting from as low as Dh2. The sale will be held at Dubai Studio City from 9am to 2am and will be free to enter.

“The books will be the superstar of the event,” said Andrew Yap, co-founder of BBW. “We have about 60—70 per cent new book titles as compared to last time and we have a lot more discounts.”

This year, BBW will be held under the theme ‘Bigger and Gooder’. Andrew said that it was a play on words to remind people that reading was of utmost importance. “A lot of customers called us out saying we made a mistake,” he said. “So we tell them that we are all a work in progress. That is why we should read. We need to read to know that such a word does not exist. It is a very powerful statement.”

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Majed Al Suwaidi, Senior Vice President of Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City – TECOM Group, said that the event has become a staple of the group’s creative calendar, “Literature is such a powerful fuel for creativity, imagination, and curiosity. Big Bad Wolf promotes a love for reading that is essential to nurture in younger generations, especially in an increasingly digital world,” he said.

New additions

This year, the sale will have several innovations. “We came out with an 'Unbelievable' section where customers will find books for as low as Dh2,” he said. The section will offer unbeatable prices on select books.

This year, visitors will also be able to buy gift vouchers for their near and dear ones. Additionally, according to Andrew, “the look and feel of the hall will be different” and instead of being laid flat in stacks, there will be elevated shelves which will make for a better customer experience.

The BBW now also has an office and warehouse in the UAE, which has contributed to making the books cheaper. “Definitely, it will bring our overheads lower,” said Andrew. “We will have more discounts and we are able to replenish books better.”

In addition to this, Andrew revealed that BBW will be more active all across the country. “We will have more events around the UAE,” he said. “When we say our mission is to make books affordable and accessible, it cannot be just Dubai. If you live in a small city outside of Dubai, you don’t have the same opportunities. So, we want to bring our books there. We will be venturing out into other cities as well.”

Customer experience

A key factor of the event will be the volunteers who will man the book sale. “We work with an agency who has recruited people from across several age categories to help out at the sale,” said a BBW spokesperson. “We train them well so that they know enough about the books we are selling. Several of them are returning volunteers because they enjoyed working with us so much.”

Visitors can browse through a wide variety of bestsellers, fiction, non-fiction, literature, cookbooks, children's books, graphic novels, and more. In addition, the fair will showcase board games, colouring books, and collectibles, all under one roof. The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale was conceptualised with the vision to promote literacy and reading among communities worldwide.

BBW is supported by strategic partner Dubai Culture. “We realise the importance of organising and hosting book fairs,” said Eiman Al Hammadi, Acting Manager of the Libraries Affairs Section at Dubai Culture. “This year we are focusing on how to how we can the reach the community on a very big scale. We are reaching out to kids in university and schools as well as their parents. It is not easy but year by year we are doing more work to reach different sections through the selection of books.”

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