Sarasavi Bookshop
Sarasavi Bookshop is a private Sri Lankan omnichannel book retailer operating 28 physical branches nationwide, the sarasavi.lk e-commerce platform, an e-books sub-platform, and two in-house publishing imprints (Sarasavi Publications and Sumitha Publications), serving individual consumers, students, and international schools with English, Sinhala, and Tamil titles.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersNugegoda, Sri Lanka
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Sarasavi Bookshop does
Sarasavi Bookshop is a privately held Sri Lankan omnichannel book retailer headquartered in Nugegoda with a nationwide footprint of 28 physical branches spanning Colombo (Borella, One Galle Face Mall, Colombo 07, Colombo Fort, Kollupitiya, Dehiwala, Maradana, Narahenpita, Nugegoda, Battaramulla), the Western Province corridor (Kiribathgoda, Kottawa, Wattala, Panadura, Piliyandala, Maharagama, Padukka, Horana, Negombo, Gampaha), and regional cities (Kandy with two branches, Galle with two branches, Matara, Kurunegala, Ratnapura). The business operates as a unified retail platform combining brick-and-mortar bookstore branches, the sarasavi.lk e-commerce storefront, an e-books sub-platform at ebooks.sarasavi.lk, a telephone/web order hotline, and a request-a-book fulfilment service, supported by a dedicated warehouse in Nugegoda.
The product catalog covers English, Sinhala, and Tamil books across fiction, novels, translations, short stories, children's literature, and educational materials, with a dedicated international-school category carrying Cambridge, Pearson Edexcel, IGCSE, O Level, AS Level, and A Level textbooks. Sarasavi also owns two publishing imprints — Sarasavi Publications (Sinhala novels, children's stories, educational and literary works) and Sumitha Publications (children's educational and cultural content in Sinhala) — giving it partial upstream control of content for the local-language market.
The business model is retail transaction-based with standard 15% discounts applied to most titles, 10% on international-school textbooks, and promotional 20% discounts on Sarasavi Publications titles, priced in Sri Lankan Rupees. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer across individuals and households, with a secondary institutional channel serving international schools via pre-compiled book lists. The company markets through its e-commerce platform, SEO-optimised category pages, literary event participation including the Colombo Literary Festival, and the school book-list referral channel. No funding rounds, M&A activity, public listing, leadership disclosures, or institutional ownership are present in the available data.
Sarasavi Bookshop firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sarasavi Bookshop
- Legal name
- Sarasavi Bookshop
- Website
- https://sarasavi.lk
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Sarasavi Bookshop is a private Sri Lankan omnichannel book retailer operating 28 physical branches nationwide, the sarasavi.lk e-commerce platform, an e-books sub-platform, and two in-house publishing imprints (Sarasavi Publications and Sumitha Publications), serving individual consumers, students, and international schools with English, Sinhala, and Tamil titles.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sarasavi Bookshop industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Retail Bookselling
- NAICS
- Book Retailers and News Dealers (45921), Book Publishers (513130)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Book Printing (2732)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Children’s Books & Educational Readers Retail (CRALAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Literary & Classics Publishing (MPAJAAAC), eBook & Digital Reading Platforms (BPAMAJAK)
Keywords
Where Sarasavi Bookshop is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nugegoda
- HQ country
- Sri Lanka
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices30 records
Markets served
Sarasavi Bookshop business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Book Retail Sales: Direct sales of books to consumers through physical bookstore branches and online e-commerce platform. Revenue generated from retail book sales with standard discounts applied to listed prices.
- Publishing (Sarasavi Publications & Sumitha Publications): Revenue from publishing and selling books under proprietary imprints Sarasavi Publications and Sumitha Publications, which publish Sinhala-language literature, children's books, and educational materials.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Book Pricing with 15% Discount |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | International School Books with 10% Discount |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Sarasavi Publications with 20% Discount |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Sarasavi Bookshop product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sarasavi Bookshop imports and retails books from external publishers across 28+ physical branches and an e-commerce platform, while also publishing original Sinhala-language literature, children's books, and educational materials through its in-house imprints Sarasavi Publications and Sumitha Publications. The company offers English, Sinhala, and Tamil books across fiction, children's, educational, and international school categories, with home delivery, school book list services, and an e-books digital platform.
Product overview
Sarasavi Bookshop is a Sri Lankan online book retailer operating a unified e-commerce platform with integrated physical retail presence. The core offering consists of the online bookstore (sarasavi.lk) complemented by own publishing imprints (Sarasavi Publications, Sumitha Publications), an e-books platform (ebooks.sarasavi.lk), school book list services, and 27+ physical branch locations. The platform specializes in English, Sinhala, and Tamil books across categories including fiction, children's literature, educational/adyapana materials, and international school textbooks (Cambridge/Edexcel).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Sarasavi Publications: In-house publishing division producing Sinhala novels, children's books, educational materials, short stories, and translations
- Sumitha Publications
- Sarasavi E-Books
Products and services
- Sarasavi Bookshop (Online Bookstore) Online book retail platform enabling customers across Sri Lanka to browse, search by keyword/author/publisher/title/ISBN, purchase books with shopping cart, wishlist, and user account features, with home delivery.
- Sarasavi Publications Owned publishing imprint producing and selling Sinhala-language novels, children's stories, educational materials, short stories, and translations exclusively through Sarasavi Bookshop channels.
- Sumitha Publications Owned sub-brand publishing children's literature and educational books in Sinhala, available exclusively through Sarasavi Bookshop.
- International School Books Specialized book category offering Cambridge, Pearson Edexcel, IGCSE, O Level, AS Level, and A Level textbooks, workbooks, and revision guides for international schools in Sri Lanka, with a 10% discount applied.
- Lamakatha (Children's Books) Children's literature section featuring Sinhala children's stories, folk tales, Jataka tales, and educational content for young readers.
- Adyapana (Education Books) Educational books and academic materials category covering all grade levels for the Sri Lankan local curriculum, including GCE O/L and A/L preparation materials and school textbooks in Sinhala.
- Sarasavi E-Books Platform Standalone digital e-book reading platform at ebooks.sarasavi.lk offering electronic versions of books for digital readers across Sri Lanka.
- School Book Lists Service Pre-compiled book list service for international schools including Asian International School, Stafford International School, and Royal Institute International School, enabling parents to order all required textbooks in a streamlined procurement.
Companies that use Sarasavi Bookshop
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Sarasavi Bookshop technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Sarasavi Bookshop partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Colombo Literary FestivalminorSarasavi participates in the Colombo Literary Festival (ColLit), promoting books and literary engagement. The festival is held at One Galle Face venue and Sarasavi maintains a presence there.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights5 records
Sarasavi Bookshop competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- MPH Bookstores: Malaysian bookstore chain with physical branches and online retail across English-language titles, children's books, and educational materials. Comparable as a Southeast Asian regional peer with similar omnichannel book retail and educational supply positioning.
- Crossword Bookstores: Indian multi-format bookstore chain operating physical stores and online retail. Comparable as a regional peer in South Asian bookstore retail, with similar product mix of English trade books, educational titles, and exclusive in-store experience.
- Gramedia: Indonesia's largest bookstore chain with hundreds of branches and an integrated publishing arm. Comparable as a Southeast Asian regional peer combining large-scale retail with proprietary publishing, operating in a single emerging market similar in structure to Sarasavi's Sri Lankan footprint.
- Landmark Bookstore (Reliance Retail): Indian bookstore chain formerly part of the Landmark group, selling books, toys, music, and stationery across large-format stores. Comparable as a South Asian regional peer with overlapping category footprint including children's books and educational supplies.
Broad incumbents
- Kinokuniya: Japanese global bookstore chain with a presence at One Galle Face Mall in Colombo (same venue as a Sarasavi branch). Comparable as a broad incumbent selling imported English-language books in Sri Lanka with a wider international inventory.
- Amazon: Global online bookseller and Kindle e-book platform reaching Sri Lankan consumers digitally. Comparable as a broad incumbent that competes with Sarasavi on English-language print books and increasingly on e-books, despite not operating physical branches in Sri Lanka.
Direct peers
- Vijitha Yapa Bookshop: Major Sri Lankan bookstore chain with physical retail branches and online presence, also operating its own Vijitha Yapa Publications imprint. Highly comparable as a direct domestic competitor in book retail and local-language publishing.
- MD Gunasena & Co. One of Sri Lanka's oldest and largest bookstore chains, operating multiple retail branches across the country. Directly comparable as a Sri Lankan bookstore chain selling English, Sinhala, and Tamil books to retail consumers with a similar branch-and-distribution model.
- Lake House Bookshop: Sri Lankan bookstore affiliated with the state-linked Lake House publishing group, selling trade, educational, and government publications through retail locations. Comparable as a domestic competitor combining book retail with publishing operations.
- Samudra Bookshop: Sri Lankan book retail chain with multiple branches serving general readers, students, and schools. Comparable as another domestic multi-branch bookstore operating in the same retail and educational segments as Sarasavi.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sarasavi Bookshop social profiles
Digital presenceSarasavi Bookshop financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sarasavi Bookshop leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Sarasavi Bookshop funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sarasavi Bookshop M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sarasavi Bookshop
What does Sarasavi Bookshop do?
Sarasavi Bookshop imports and retails books from external publishers across 28+ physical branches and an e-commerce platform, while also publishing original Sinhala-language literature, children's books, and educational materials through its in-house imprints Sarasavi Publications and Sumitha Publications. The company offers English, Sinhala, and Tamil books across fiction, children's, educational, and international school categories, with home delivery, school book list services, and an e-books digital platform.
Is Sarasavi Bookshop a public or private company?
Sarasavi Bookshop is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Sarasavi Bookshop founded?
Sarasavi Bookshop was founded in -1. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Sarasavi Bookshop based?
Sarasavi Bookshop is headquartered in Nugegoda, Sri Lanka, in the Asia region.
How does Sarasavi Bookshop make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Book Retail Sales are the primary driver. The others are publishing (Sarasavi Publications & Sumitha Publications).
Who are Sarasavi Bookshop's main competitors?
Regional players on record are MPH Bookstores, Crossword Bookstores, Gramedia and Landmark Bookstore (Reliance Retail). Broad incumbents are Kinokuniya and Amazon. Direct peers are Vijitha Yapa Bookshop, MD Gunasena & Co., Lake House Bookshop and Samudra Bookshop.
Does Sarasavi Bookshop have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sarasavi Bookshop.
What industry is Sarasavi Bookshop in?
Sarasavi Bookshop's product category is Retail Bookselling. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALAAAD, Children’s Books & Educational Readers Retail, with a secondary code of MPAJAAAC, Literary & Classics Publishing. Its NAICS code is 45921 and its SIC code is 2731.