Lot # : 2b - Information in english

Danish world-class collection of motor books is up for sale. One of the world’s largest collections of motor books is now up for sale. It is the auction house “Campen Auktioner”, who just announced that Kosters Motorbookstore is up for sale on their auction. The store has a collection of more than 130.000 books, manuals and magazines, including both physical and digital form. The unique collection holds several rarities, like for instance an instruction manual for a Cadillac V16 from 1932. Maybe you forgot how to tighten the bolts on your Aston Martin? Or maybe your spitfire fighter-flight needs a check? It could also just be, that you need to change the tires on your Skoda. Maybe you would like to have a nice silver-colored book about Audi R8 sport wagons on your coffee table, so that it matches the masterpiece in the garage? No matter if you are a motor-enthusiast on a hobby level, or you see the business potential of owning one of the largest physical and digital collections of motor books in the world, there is a good chance of getting your need fulfilled in Kosters Motorbookstore in Risskov. A collection with passion behind It is a true treasury of knowledge, that is located on a small road in Risskov near Aarhus. Kosters Motorbookstore, that originally was part of a larger bookstore chain, is located here. “The previous owner, Jens Olesen, was thrilled with fast cars and drove a Jaguar himself. At some point, he needed material about the car, and figured out, that motor books were a unique niche. That became the beginning of the bookstore,” Tom Frandsen, who today owns Kosters, told. He has chosen to put the store up for sale now, even though he has had a great passion for motors since his childhood, when he got his first moped. However, after getting diagnosed with osteoarthritis, the work with the many books has naturally ended. That is why the store now needs a new owner, that will cherish the astonishing collection. Knowledge from three centuries: hobby, practice and history There is almost 150 years of motor history hidden in the many shelfs in Risskov, and the oldest book of the collection, is a manual to a French motorcycle from 1880s. Among the special ones is an instruction book for a Cadillac V16 from 1932. The car was produced in only few copies, and Tom is guessing, that there was a numbered manual for each car – indicating that this manual is one of very few copies in the world. The collection is, however, much more than interesting rarities like the Cadillac manual. In the cozy store, that is decorated with original classical car posters, toy cars and small showings with old newspapers containing motor history, you find both workshop manuals, hobby books with lots of history, car and motor magazines, part catalogues and other technical material. Most of the books are in the warehouse behind the store, and here the shelving is divided into divisions of American, and non-American, motorbikes, scooters, tractors, mopeds, trucks and boats, among others. In total, there is more than 130.000 books, divided to around 60.000 titles, since some of the books are held in several copies. The last copy of the collection There is no doubt, that the bookstore holds a lot of valuable books and manuals for passionate collectors. But besides that, the collection is a unique source of significant knowledge for the use and maintenance of mechanics. If you need to know something about whichever motor, the information can be found here. Tom knows this is an important responsibility regarding availability about this knowledge. That is why he and the store has a principle, that secures the unique quality of the business: “I never sell the last copy of a book. Then we will make a reprint of the book instead. Some books are found in several copies, others are not. We have been granted the right of the Danish Ministry of Culture, to reprint books that are not sold or produced any more by the original publisher. In that way, we can help our customers, and insure a complete collection.” Reprints A reprint could for instance be one of the many handbooks. Here Tom has ensured an agreement with The Danish Ministry of Culture, that gives him the right to make reprints of books that are not produced or sold from the publisher any more. This contributes a lot to the value of the company. More than 10.000 manuals and instruction books are already scanned and ready to be reprinted on request. There are a few titles that only exists digitally, but these are still contributing to ensuring the knowledge of as many topics as possible. Tom has leased scanning and printing equipment, and if all parties agrees to, the agreement can be transferred on to a new owner. In that way, a new potential owner can carry on physical sales and the Webshop with original and reprinted books. Unexploited potential in Internet-trading Even though the collection is representing 150 years of motor history, it only just opened for its future potential, that lies within the digital world. “If you combine the amazing collection with a modern IT system, including a new Webshop and an integrated accounting system, the opportunities for increasing revenue is enormous”, Tom Frandsen assess. The current system is working with the current products (around 13.000 titles), but is a bit old and not suitable for mobiles and tablets. It does not work optimal with search engines, and is in lack of modern facilities. However, there is plenty of opportunities for converting the data to a modern system, that will most likely decrease the fixed costs with around 50%. “We already had the preliminary negotiations with Golden Planet as the new provider of the Webshop, and with eEconomic as the accounting system. These two parties are working closely together, and their systems are in complete integration with each other. Converting to these systems will cost around 30.-50.000 DKK, and the cut in costs will be around 25.-30.000 DKK per year. Besides that, we recently opened an eBay store, which clearly depicts the potential of the business. We are receiving orders from the entire world, even though we only have around 300 products for sale on the site,” he tells. Wide potential of buyers Moving on to the matter of who would be willing to purchase this enormous book collection – here Finn Campen, director and auctioneer of Campen Auktioner AS, quickly mentions several potential target groups. “We are dealing with a unique collection, and we already contacted the large international companies in the digital and printed book business, besides locale and national players in both book- and motor area, car museums, book shops, libraries, entrepreneurs and car unions. Besides that, there is several clubs of veteran-cars, that has a large share capital, and can make use of competent volunteers to run the store.” Who the new owner will be, will be known when the auction ends on December 17th this year. Facts about Kosters Motorbookstore - The collection was founded in Randers in 1962, and moved to Risskov in 2015. - 2500 – is the number of moving boxes the collection fills packed down - 25% of the collection is in Danish – the rest is either in English, German or French (a few copies are in other foreign languages) - The auction is online on Campen Auktioner, and has the auction number: 1400. - Both private and professionals can bid on the auction