About Us
Crossword aims to be a point of cultural and social interaction where authors and poets hold court, where children are regaled, where people gravitate to be informed, to be entertained, even enlightened. The name embodies the vision of Crossword as a place and space for people who seek information, knowledge or just the pleasure of reading. Crossword stocks the widest range of Books – Toys – Stationery – Magazines, Gifting and Hardware & Accessories
With its large children’s section and its focus on making the store a friendly, safe, fun-filled place, Crossword attracts many families who normally don’t think of visiting bookstores. The unobtrusive helpful staff assists customers in finding the right books or gifts for the right occasion. Facilities like the Crossword Gift Vouchers, the friendly ‘Return, Exchange & Refunds’ policy, the Cafes within the stores and the unique store experience make it easy and enjoyable for customers to shop at Crossword. Over 4.5 lacs loyal customers are rewarded through the Crossword Book Rewards Program with points, discounts, exclusive discounts & offers and more. ‘eWords’, a monthly e-newsletter with reviews of new books, news about in store events and bestseller lists, is currently mailed to these Members.
Among the numerous writers who have visited the store are Jeffrey Archer, Jeff Kinney, Sir V S Naipaul, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Chandra, Vikram Seth, Kiran Nagarkar, Kiran Desai, Amitav Ghosh, Shashi Tharoor, Shobhaa De, Charles Handy, Ricardo Semler and Jack Canfield. Crossword bookstores also promote the reading habit among children with a weekly activity every Sunday morning across various stores. Promotional events include Pictionary contests, quizzes, slide shows and the annual affair with Santa and his elves. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull came for a signing, so did Macho Man Randy Savage, the WWF champion. Crossword also launched the Crossword Book Award in 1998 to recognise and reward the best of Indian writing.
Since its inception in 15th October 1992, Crossword has received wide recognition for its achievements; articles on retailing in India invariably feature Crossword. It has been featured in Advertising Age International, USA, as one of the Marketing Superstars for 1994. The Bookseller, UK, has also described it as ‘being on the cutting edge of retailing’ in India.
Crossword, with 80 stores across: Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Bengaluru, Mangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Mumbai Airport, Navi Mumbai, Goa, Gandhinagar, Gurgaon, Surat, Nagpur, Nasik, Pune, Siliguri, Raipur, Udaipur, Noida, Vadodara is India’s fastest growing chain of bookstores.
Crossword Recognition
Crossword has received wide recognition for its achievement;
Articles on retailing in India invariably feature Crossword. It has been featured in Advertising Age International, USA, as one of the Marketing Superstars for 1994. The Bookseller, UK, has also described it as ‘being on the cutting edge of retailing’.
Crossword was ranked the 5th most admired retailer in India by Business world for the year 2004, it was the only book retailer in the top 10.
Crossword was ranked the 6th most admired retailer in India by Business world for the year 2006, it was the only book retailer in the top 10.
Reid & Taylor Award for Best Retailer of the year – Leisure & Specialty at the India Retail Summit 2005 & 2007& 2009.
Retailer of the Year Award - Leisure (Books, Music and Gifts Category) at the Images Retail Awards 2005 & 2007 & 2010.
Federation of Indian Publishers Award for excellence in Publishing for the year 2004 on 18th June 2005 at the hands of Shri Arjun Singh, Minister of Human Resource Development.
Star Retailer of year award – Books & Music category for 2011
Debutant E Retailer of the year - books - at India e-Retail Awards 2012
Winner of the Economic Times Retail Award 2013 for the Marketing campaign of - The Crossword Book Award - Popular category.
“Book Retailer of The Year” in the prestigious Indian Retail Awards 2014 held at Gurgaon, Delhi
The prestigious "National Award For Marketing Excellence In Retail Sector" in July 2015, This Award attains even more significance as it is conceptualized by the “Council of Chief Marketing Officers-Asia”.
IAMAI- Gold for the campaigns - Harry Potter & Silver for Crossword 25th anniversary.
- EEMAX Global Award for Crossword Book Awards - 2018
