Some twenty two odd years ago on July 28, 1991, EPP Books Services started its operations as a small bookshop in an obscure corner of Accra, Ghana. The bookshop, which started with a space of not more than 20 meters square, has grown into a chain of bookshops spreading across the West African sub region.
EPP Books Services currently has bookshops in Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. There are plans to open more bookshops in Cote d’voire, Burkina Faso, Liberia and Zimbabwe. Our present chain of fifteen bookshops and agencies in Ghana makes us the largest book distributors in Ghana with several more line up for the next couple of years.
We are a general bookseller. Our stock of books range from general children’s school books to secondary and university education textbooks, self-help titles to books on development, children’s readers to bestselling novels and a lot more. We do both retailing and wholesaling.
One of our specialization is local licensing of otherwise expensive books for the West African sub region and sometimes Africa as a whole. We have publishing and licensing agreements with a number of reputable publishers from:
• United Kingdom
• United States of America
• Australia
• India
We are booksellers with a distinct character. We also have our own publications. Several of our titles for Primary Schools, Junior High Schools and Senior High Schools have been adopted by the Ministry of Education and currently used as school textbooks in Ghanaian schools.
How It All Started
EPP Books Services was established by Gibrine Adam. It was a dream come true. While in the University between 1985 and 1988 he used to order single copies of books for his colleagues. The first set of books were 3 copies of Brealey and Myers: Principles of Corporate Finance published by McGraw Hill, followed by Theory of Catering and Practical Cookery from Arnold. He continued to order books in smaller quantities for his students while teaching at various institutions in Ghana including Accra Polytechnic, West Africa Computer Science Institute and his own College in Tema.
Gibrine Adam authored a series of Accounting and Finance books under the series name “Essenco Professional Publications”. “Essenco” means Essential Commodity, a name given to Gibrine by his students. This is how the name EPP evolved and later was registered as EPP Books Services, a name that represents honesty, commitment, the drive to succeed backed by abundant resourcefulness.
Before moving into its head office in year 2000 EPP Books Services has moved thrice. First from the 20 square meter wooden structure where is all started to two other locations at Tudu, behind Accra Polytechnic and Labone. The journey has not all been rosy as we have sometimes been kicked out of rented shops because the landlord abhorred success. Our success is contagious, so we moved on and have since continued to move on with partners who value success. Join us because our customers, suppliers, publishers and all who cherish success are our partners.
The Company
EPP Books Services was established in February 1991 and business started on July 1991. Our mission is to provide a wide range of books for education, entertainment, self-development and self-fulfillment; to all people whenever there is the need.
Events Leading To the Establishment of EPP Books Services
The 1980s saw the Ghana books trade take a down swing due to variety of reasons including foreign exchange problem and generally lack of interest in patronizing books. The government’s policy of providing free textbooks at the basic education and secondary school levels created an attitude problem; purchasing books was the last item on people’s budget.
The late 80’s were characterized by an increase in the establishment of private basic and secondary schools. There was also a study rise in the number of admissions to the Universities. This created a new market for books. Unfortunately there were no vibrant bookshops to cater for the emerging book market.
Establishment
EPP Books Services was established primarily to fill the vacuum that existed in the provision of textbooks particularly tertiary education during the period 1982 and 1991.
The tertiary books on the market were either used ones, which were in most cases several editions old or pirated editions. This situation offered an opportunity for a new bookshop. EPP Books Services seized the opportunity and the firm was registered to start operations in February 1991.
Operations
Through the years, in pursuit of our primary objective, we have expanded our services to enable us meet the needs of the market. Our major services cover; Retail, Wholesale, Special Orders, Publishing, Trade Representation and Consultancy.
EPP Books Services has the largest network of retail bookshops in the sub-region with over 15 branches in Ghana. Our dominance in the market has earned us exclusive trade representation for several reputable publishers and accredited distributors for both local and foreign publishers.
We acquired our first premises and formally opened to the public on the 29th July 1991 with a shop floor space of about 5x4 square meters. The first shop was strategically located behind the Accra Polytechnic in the Central Business District of Accra. The citing of the bookshop was of immense help to most of its target customers.
Initially the company was run by a two-man team comprising the Chief Executive/Owner and a bookshop keeper. Now EPP Books Services is run by a management team headed by the Chief Executive, who is assisted by a team of departmental managers.
Future Plans
EPP Books intends to open more branches in the West African Sub-Region and help in the set up of Corporate Resource Centres and Personal Libraries. We are involved in the development and distribution of ebooks, the future of the book industry.
Business Values & Ethics
• Our Customers
Our customers are the reason for our existence. Our resources are therefore committed first to satisfying the needs of our customers.
• Our Publishers and Suppliers
We are able to meet the expectations of our customers with the help of our publishers and suppliers. We owe to our publishers and suppliers the responsibility of meeting sales targets and making prompt payment of our accounts – generally keep our part of the bargain.
• Honesty
We believe that our company will continue to thrive if all our business is conducted with honesty and utmost sincerity.
• Deliver on Promises
Promises that cannot be kept are better not made. We strive to keep our promise on the products and services we supply.
• Value for Money
When customers walk into our shops, they expect the best value for their money. We offer the best value for money for our customers considering the income levels in the sub region and matching our customers purchasing power and profitability for our publishers.
• People are Supreme
We rank people first in all our operations. Our staff receive the support necessary to enable them deliver on our commitment to our clients and publishers.
Corporate Responsibility
EPP Books Services seeks to create a rich environment for the benefit of the community within which we operate. We have over the years contributed to various programmes for the economic and social benefit of the community.