Barcelona's book shops expect spike in sales for Sant Jordi
Xinhua, April 21, 2015 Adjust font size:
Book shops in Catalonia, but especially here, expect to see an increase in book sales for Sant Jordi and International Book Day, both happening on April 23.
Economic newspaper Expansion reported on Monday that the Catalan publishing industry and book shops in general expected to surpass the 1.6 million books sold in 2014.
April 23 is a special day in the northeastern region of Catalonia. Tradition dictates women buy a book for men while men should buy a rose for women as, according to legend, Sant Jordi - or Saint George - gave the princess a rose after killing the dragon.
Book sellers usually expect to sell between 5 percent and 8 percent of the year's total sales on that day.
Last year, book shops brought in 19.3 million euros (about 20.8 million U.S. dollars), 5 percent more than a year earlier, and they expect to surpass that figure this year. They hope book sales will consolidate this year, confirming the recovery from the economic crisis that forced many book shops to close.
On the other hand, florists expect rose sales to increase and reach 7 million in sales, thanks to the sales tax drop from 21 percent to 10 percent.
On Sant Jordi, the streets of Barcelona will be full of stalls with books and roses to sell. Endit