Chinese 'Bookstores' in US

choi

Frank Shyong, To Survive in the US, Chinese Bookstores Evolve Way Beyond books. Los Angeles Times, Nov 25, 2014.
www.latimes.com/local/great-read ... 20141125-story.html

Quote:

(a) "Internet competition has forced bookstores across the nation to close, but in the San Gabriel Valley, they've evolved. Chinese bookstores ship packages, repair laptops, supply lottery tickets. One bookstore became a classroom, another a convenience store.

"Their owners came to America with the same dream, only to watch it fade. To keep it alive, they've cut corners from it, painted it a different color, repackaged it.

(b) "At NHK Books in Alhambra 'We used to sell books,' [manager Cecilia] Ng says. 'Now we're more like 7-Eleven for Chinese people.'

"The bookstore turned convenience store is part of a big chain of Chinese bookstores originating in Hong Kong that dates to 1954. The store even publishes a manga based on the bookstore's founder, a minor celebrity in Hong Kong.

"When customers stopped buying books, the store extended its hours and stocked up on goods from Hong Kong — Calbee chips, shrimp snacks, a selection of chilled teas and CDs of popular Chinese artists. When Chinese musical acts came to Los Angeles, it started to offer concert tickets. The most recent moneymaker is lottery tickets.

(c) "NHK's Hong Kong locations are still traditional bookstores. In America, Ng says, everything's gone downhill since people started buying their books online.

"Still, she's never mourned the bookstore's lost identity. There have always been more important concerns, such as putting her daughter through medical school and paying her employees' wages.

(d) "The sign over Helen Duong's bookstore reads Soyodo, the name of a onetime chain bookstore with locations throughout California. Her business card reads 'Beijing Books 北京書緣 [in Alhambra].' But books have little to do with Duong's business model, and she hasn't sold any in a while. * * * If gratitude came in the form of money, she accepted it — but only after protesting.

Note:
(a) World Books  世界書局
(b) San Gabriel Valley
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gabriel_Valley
(The valley derives its name from the San Gabriel River [qv] that flows southward * * * , which itself was named for the Spanish Mission San Gabriel Arcángel originally built in the Whittier Narrows in 1771)

(c) "NHK Books * * *  part of a big chain of Chinese bookstores originating in Hong Kong that dates to 1954. The store even publishes a manga based on the bookstore's founder, a minor celebrity in Hong Kong."
(i) Oh my god. Everywhere I search in the Web, including websites based in Beijing or Hong Kong, NHK Books stands for NHK出版
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHK出版  
(株式会社NHK出版（NHK Publishing Co, Ltd）は、1931年（昭和6年）に日本放送協会 (NHK) の子会社として設立された出版社である。2010年までの旧社名は日本放送出版協会)

translation: [full name in Japanese:] 株式会社NHK出版 ([English:] NHK Publishing Co, Ltd) is, a publisher established [in Tokyo] as a subsidiary of Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai 日本放送協会 [ofcial English name: Japan Broadcasting Corporation]. Until 2010, its former name was 日本放送出版協会
(ii) Wait. The Hong Kong bookstore chain founded by NG Hing Kee 吳 興記. And the bookstore chain is
Profile. Ng Hing Kee Book Store  香港吳興記出版社
www.nghingkee.com/
("香港吳興記出版社創業於1954年, 出版各類豐富多彩的書籍. 更早於1983年在羅省 [Los Angeles] 開設第一間書局. 由於經營理念以誠為本. 不斷開設分店為市民提供就近購書的方便. 並以用最快和最合理的價錢為每一位顧客提供最新的資訊而受到廣大的顧客朋友支持. 羅省吳興記書報社和樂聲影音世界主要經營小說,報刊,漫畫,雜誌,音樂唱碟,電影光碟,精美禮品,模型玩具,港式小食及電話卡")
(A) Do not tell me the manga is 老夫子
zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/老夫子
(英語：Old Master Q; 作者為王澤，原名王家禧; 在1964年香港吳興記書報社發行單行本; 仍在持續出版中)

But this manga seems to be the only one published by Ng Hing Kee Book Store.
(B) Why do I know Ms Cecilia Ng is a manager?

Ng Hing Kee Of Los Angeles. WhereOrg, undated
www.whereorg.com/ng-hing-kee-of-los-angeles-1065332
(Estimated number of employees: 2; Annual sales estimate: [$]266,000; City / suburb: Alhambra, CA; Street address: 29 E Valley Blvd; Contact name: Cecilia Ng; Contact title: Manager)

(d)
(i) "Calbee chips" are made by Calbee Inc (based in Tokyo, incorporated in 1949 as Matsuo Food Processing Co, Ltd 松尾糧食工業（株）, whose name was changed to Calbee Food in 1955.
(ii) Why, oh why Calbee?  The Japanese version --but no the English version--of the company website
www.calbee.co.jp/company/enkaku.php
states:

"沿革 1949年 -1969年: 社名の由來  カルビーの社名はカルシウムの「カル」と、ビタミンB1 の「ビー」を組み合わせた造語です。カルシウムはミネラルの中でも代表的な栄養素、ビタミンB1 はビタミンB群のなかでも中心的な栄養素です。みなさまの健康に役立つ商品づくりをめざして名づけました。"

translation: Origin of the company name  Calbee is a coined word 造語, as a combination of "cal" from calcium, and "bee [signaling a long vowel]" from vitamin B1. Calcium is representative of the nutrient among minerals, whereas vitamin B1 is central to the vitamin B group. Thus christened, aiming aat promotion of everyone's health.