And, brand power can increase when a brand is "different" from others, she says, citing the example of Morioka Shoten, a Japanese bookstore that chooses only one book to sell every week and designs various activities related to the book-which is "very different from its counterparts around the world".

Finally, she adds, "outstanding" means the brand "should be the first thing that people recall when referring to products of its kind".

She cites yet another example: Naobaijin, a Chinese health brand, is probably one of the first names that springs to mind when many Chinese people think of health products, since it started using the tag line "No gift is acceptable this year except Naobaijin" in its commercials.

The report says new changes in China's bookstore industry were apparent last year. Some online companies such as Read at Ten and Yitiao started to open physical bookstores since the number of online users of its web stores grew more slowly and offline bookstores began to attract more readers, which helped their brands' growth.

In addition, last year, more bookstores opened in villages linked to culture and tourism. For example, Diamondream's Fujian Guling store is located in the former villa of general Li Shijia (1894-1970), located in a mountain in Fuzhou, the capital of East China's Fujian province. Customers can enjoy both the natural sights and reading there.

Bookstores' connection with cities also deepened last year.

Ding Junjie, a professor of the Communication University of China, says: "Bookstores make people feel the quality of daily life. They enable people to understand the value of leisure and enjoy the process."

Many provinces have issued guidelines to promote physical bookstores in recent years.

Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, was selected as "Bookstore Capital of the Year" at the conference, which has the highest ratings in terms of number of bookstores, reading rates and policy support.

People who work in the bookstore sector have the goals of promoting culture and doing business, Cheng Sanguo, the founder of Bookdao New Publishing Institute, says.

Contact the writer at wangru1@chinadaily.com.cn