F. Sionil José heir talks on the potential sale of Solidaridad Bookshop

SOLIDARIDAD BOOKSHOP, a 60-year-old enterprise founded by the late National Artist for Literature F. Sionil José, is in the midst of a potential buyout. Antonio J. José, the second-generation owner, talked to BusinessWorld about the bookshop’s history, the management changes he has adopted, and the lack of a third-generation successor to the business.

The family is in talks with an interested buyer of the bookshop, although everything is still under negotiation, Mr. José said in a Sept. 3 phone call.

The potential next owner, he said, is a good friend of his father’s and plans to continue operating the bookshop.

Solidaridad was established in June 1965 by F. Sionil José and his wife, Teresita J. José, who both dreamed that Filipinos read more often. It was named after La Solidaridad, the bi-weekly Spanish era newspaper published by the Propaganda Movement, which was led by Filipino intellectuals in Europe such as Jose P. Rizal and Marcelo H. del Pilar.

STATE OF THE BUSINESS
The bookshop was not making money when Mr. José took over the reins from his parents about 12 years ago after living overseas.

“When I took over, and when they passed away [both in 2022], there were a lot of headaches,” he said in a Nov. 5, 2024 interview. “That’s how it was.”

“We can pay the bills, but profit-wise? Hardly,” he added. “It’s hard.”

Mr. José introduced a computer system to manage inventory, a task his mother had done manually in the past.

He also maintained a professional relationship with the staff, in contrast with his mother’s personal approach.

“I’m used to the American way of running a business,” he said. “I know you’re married, that you have kids… but I’m not going to go further than that, like know what you do on weekends.”

“If you’re too close to your employees, professionalism starts to go away,” he added.

Although the bookshop does not have a presence on any e-commerce platforms, it has a Facebook page where patrons can inquire and order books online.

The management changes, Mr. José told BusinessWorld, have led to more stable operations.

“My parents ran it like a small business,” he said last November. “What you see downstairs is how it looked like 59 years ago.”

PROMOTING FILIPINIANA
Solidaridad’s unique selling proposition is its “unmatched” Filipiniana section of 2,795 titles, according to Mr. José.

“A lot of people come up for the Filipiniana section… We have foreign titles [too] but we hardly have any bestseller,” he said.

In line with its vision, the bookshop also promotes Filipino literature by hosting events like book launches and meetings by Poets, Playwrights, Essayists, Novelists (PEN), whose Philippine chapter the elder Mr. José founded in 1957.

It likewise does community outreach through book donations to public libraries and schools.

Mr. José was the only sibling who returned to the Philippines to manage Solidaridad and care for his parents. The rest are overseas.

No one in his family — including his nephews, nieces, and daughters — is interested in continuing the business.

“I’m not getting any younger,” he said. “It was a very hard and sad decision for us to sell it.” — Patricia B. Mirasol

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