DEFINICIONES Y CONCEPTOS

It is stated in section 4.2.3 that the theme “providing proposals for a better life” has moved Eslite even further away from the existence of a bookseller. What Eslite has been doing is encouraging consumers to visit its stores in order to get ideas which may help them to make changes to their ways of living. In other words, consumers are expected to gain inspiration, to appreciate “the aesthetics of everyday life” and to encounter “the full spectrum of life” (Chen, 2007b, Dai, 2005, Eslite, 2004) through the commodities in Eslite bookstores. Therefore, what consumers experience is not limited to different goods and events, but also encompasses ideas for a better life as proposed by Eslite. In order to actualise the themed spaces of Eslite experiencescapes, Eslite has made itself a brand of cultural and creative industry and, accordingly, Eslite bookstores are designed as “platforms of cultural and creative industries” (Jiang and Zou, 2006: 5).

As WU Min-Jie, the executive vice president of Eslite, told journalists in a press

146

conference “I hope in the future when you think about Eslite, what come up your minds is no longer bookstores, but a brand of cultural and creative industries” (Chen, 2007b). Ms Wu’s manifesto is the operational strategy that Eslite employs to provide its consumers with the proposals for a better life. Compared to the previous two business strategies, the third one is fairly recent, and only started to appear in the public media after 2004. But what are cultural and creative industries, and does Eslite qualify as a brand of cultural and creative industries from its previous existence as a bookseller?

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, cultural and creative industries have to offer commodities which embody cultural values, symbolic meanings, human creativity, and intellectual property (see UNCTAD, 2008). In Taiwan, the Ministry of Culture in Taiwan gave the definition of cultural and creative industries as those which

originate from creativity or accumulation of culture which through the formation and application of intellectual properties, possess potential capacities to create wealth and job opportunities, enhance the citizens’ capacity for arts, and elevate the citizens’ living environment (Act for the Development of Cultural and Creative Industries. (Ministry of Culture, 2010: 1)

The industries include music, performing arts, product design, digital content industries, and so on. In some European countries, the term ‘creative industries’ is preferred when indicating cultural and creative industries. For example, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in the UK uses creative industries to identify “those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property” (DCMS, 2001: 4). If we look at the thirteen industries which DCMS classifies as creative industries, the element of ‘culture’ is apparently involved.

The reason why the British government uses ‘creative’ instead of ‘cultural’ is that the

147

government wants to “sidestep possible high-culture connotations of the word

‘cultural’” (UNCTAD, 2010: 6). No matter whether they are named ‘cultural and creative industries’ or ‘creative industries’, it is clear that those industries share the same quality of being “at the crossroads of the arts, culture, business and technology”

(UNCTAD, 2008: 6). In other words, what lies at the centre of the industries is that they undertake activities that are able to generate economic growth and development through creative assets. That is the potential by which Eslite, a corporation without manufacturing and production, becomes a brand of cultural and creative industry.

Despite the fact that this transformation seems a huge project and the discourse seems fairly new, the founder of Eslite bookstores, Mr Wu, told the public just after the opening of Eslite Xin-Yi store that Eslite had begun its transformation. Mr Wu stated,

“through offering diversified ways of reading, Eslite has made itself into a platform of the cultural and creative industries” (Jiang and Zou, 2006: 2). The diversified ways of reading Mr Wu mentioned are found in the activities and goods that Eslite bookstores provide, based on the discourse of reading “books and everything in between” (see 4.2.2). The director of public relations, Ms Chen, argued that the activities and goods offered in Eslite bookstores have met the criteria of being a cultural and creative industry, saying:

Apart from the rich collection of books, Eslite is the first bookstore in Taiwan that has space for cultural activities such as exhibition and performance. We host at least 4,500 activities per year; the activities include art exhibitions, classes, dance, films, performances, theatre acts, etc. […] The products we have in the bookstores are with creativities and originality. […] You see how we value culture and creativity. We don’t just talk about culture and creativity, we do them. (Chen, Interview, August, 2006)

As Ms Chen pointed out, the books, activities and goods that Eslite bookstores have are part of the economic offerings that belong to cultural and creative products.

148

Furthermore, Eslite has the ability to turn culture and creativity into wealth and jobs.

Hence, Eslite, as Ms Chen argues, is doing cultural and creative work, and is a part of cultural and creative industries. That is, Eslite has showed its capability to make itself part of cultural and creative industries through supplying cultural activities and creative goods. Accordingly, Eslite bookstores have become places for the cultural and creative industries to be exercised. This aim of being a brand of cultural and creative industry shapes Eslite’s identity, and encourages it to continue to offer products which are regarded as having impacts on consumers’ lives.