Arabian Post Staff -Dubai
The agreement places Big Bad Wolf Sharjah, a subsidiary of the Sharjah Book Authority, in charge of developing, managing and marketing the Malaysian bookstore chain throughout both regions. The arrangement also gives the Sharjah entity responsibility for identifying new markets, overseeing delivery and building partnerships needed to support expansion.
The memorandum of understanding was signed in Kuala Lumpur by Sharjah Book Authority chief executive Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri and Andrew Yap, founder of Big Bad Wolf Books and BookXcess Malaysia. Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, chairperson of the authority, attended the signing during a delegation visit to BookXcess at Sunway.
No timetable, investment figure or list of initial locations was disclosed. However, the deal establishes Sharjah as the operating base for a retail push spanning Gulf markets, the wider Arab region and Africa, where access to affordable books remains uneven and distribution costs are often high.
BookXcess is known for selling large volumes of new books at discounted prices. Its stores combine bookselling with distinctive architecture, public events and community spaces designed to encourage visitors to spend longer in the outlets. The company operates stores in Malaysia and Singapore and has developed several branches as cultural destinations rather than conventional retail units.
The chain is closely connected with Big Bad Wolf Books, which launched its travelling sale model in 2009. The sales have since reached dozens of cities across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, offering large inventories of discounted English-language books and selected local-language titles.
Sharjah’s relationship with the business predates the new agreement. The Sharjah Book Authority invested in Big Bad Wolf in 2019, supporting its expansion across the Middle East and Africa. A warehouse hub in Sharjah later became a logistics base for book sales in markets including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kenya and Tanzania.
The BookXcess agreement moves the partnership beyond temporary sales and warehousing into permanent retail. It gives Sharjah a direct role in store development, operations and brand expansion across territories containing more than two billion people.
Al Ameri said the agreement reflected the confidence of international publishing and cultural organisations in Sharjah’s ability to expand global initiatives. He said the partnership would create more opportunities for publishers to reach millions of readers while strengthening the emirate’s standing as a centre for books and knowledge.
Yap described Sharjah as a natural base for the expansion because of its long-term investment in reading, publishing and cultural infrastructure. He said the planned stores would be designed as destinations that encourage discovery, community engagement and lifelong learning.
The partners are expected to adapt the BookXcess model to different markets rather than reproduce a single store format. Book pricing, language selection, property costs and consumer behaviour vary sharply across the Middle East and Africa. Local partnerships will therefore be important for securing sites, sourcing titles and building inventories suited to each country.
The initiative could also give publishers based in Sharjah access to new physical distribution channels. Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone has been developing services covering licensing, printing, fulfilment and international distribution, while the new retail network could add direct consumer access in selected markets.
Sharjah’s publishing strategy already includes the Sharjah International Book Fair, Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, public libraries, translation programmes and professional conferences for publishers and booksellers. The annual international fair attracts more than two million visitors and hosts publishers from more than 100 countries.
The emirate was named UNESCO World Book Capital in 2019 and has continued to use publishing as a central element of its cultural diplomacy. Its international engagement has expanded across Africa, Asia and Europe through book fairs, translation partnerships, professional exchanges and investment in distribution infrastructure.
The BookXcess move also reflects a wider shift in global publishing towards emerging-market partnerships that do not depend entirely on London, New York or Frankfurt. Sharjah’s growing links with Malaysia combine Gulf investment, Southeast Asian retail expertise and distribution routes extending into African markets.
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