[In the picture] Modernized Librairie Club focuses on Young Adult literature

With the opening of its first fully renovated store in Waterloo, Belgian bookstore chain Librairie Club is taking the next step in its rebranding. The most striking innovation: a Young Adult section, a first for a Walloon bookstore.

Impressive growth

The new store concept is part of Librairie Club’s multi-year plan, modeled after the earlier rebranding in Flanders by its parent company, Standaard Boekhandel Group. In the French-speaking part of the country as well, the bookstore chain is now fully embracing Young Adult, a dynamic segment of literature that attracts a younger generation of readers. The retailer has been seeing impressive growth in this genre in Flanders for some time.

Sales figures there show that 90% of Young Adult literature buyers prefer to make physical purchases in-store. Based on this finding, the chain opened its sixth “Young Adult corner” in Sint-Niklaas in May 2025. This led to a significant 62% increase in sales (comparison between May–December 2025 and May–December 2024). Since 57% of Flemish young people buy Young Adult books in English, the chain deliberately offers a wide selection of Young Adult and New Romance books in English.

Discover and experience

The market potential in the French-speaking part of the country is confirmed by French research from the Centre national du livre (CNL): among 16- to 19-year-olds, 55% indicate that they read novels, and more than 50% of this target group is influenced by the internet and social media when choosing their reading material. By combining the know-how gained in Flanders with international trends, Librairie Club is now positioning Young Adult as a pillar of its offering.

The new Young Adult zone in Waterloo is designed to offer younger readers a physical home base where discovery and experience take center stage. The store is also opening a completely revamped Kids Corner, featuring comfortable reading areas that invite relaxation and imagination.

Renovating all stores

Librairie Club’s rebranding, with an emphasis on its identity as a “bookstore,” is already paying off. Since the name change in October 2025, the annual market share has risen from 17.8% in 2024 to 18.6% in 2025. “We are extremely proud to launch our new, proven store concept within Librairie Club,” says Veerle De Witte, CEO of Standaard Boekhandel Group. “Initial customer feedback has been very positive, and the first results show that we are on the right track.”

The reopening of Librairie Club in Waterloo marks the first step in an ambitious multi-year plan to completely revamp the brand image of all stores, a process that will take five to seven years. The stores in Mouscron and Hognoul are already scheduled for the summer of 2026.

Read also the interview with Veerle De Witte, CEO of Standaard Boekhandel Group: “We create serial readers”.