Preserving Magazine Culture in Dhaka
Amir and Sons magazine store is a quiet gem tucked away in Dhaka’s Purana Paltan, preserving a fading magazine culture in an age of digital dominance. The Amir and Sons magazine store has for decades been Bangladesh’s go-to source for global and local publications, surviving shifts in media consumption and defying odds to remain relevant.
In an era when print media is shrinking and digital content dominates, the Amir and Sons magazine store stands as a testament to resilience and nostalgia. Nestled down a side lane off Topkhana Road in Purana Paltan, the shop may look unassuming at first glance—but inside lies a literary world. Homegrown magazines and internationally acclaimed titles line shelf after shelf, offering a tangible connection to reading cultures past and present. The story of Amir and Sons is not just about a shop—it is about memory, identity, and the persistence of reading in Bangladesh.
Origins and Legacy
The journey began in 1980, when Amir Hossain, then a young man of 20, started his venture in Dhaka after leaving Munshiganj in search of opportunity. Initially, he ran a tyre business, but soon realized there was a gap in insider access to imported magazines in Bangladesh. He ventured into magazine importation and opened a modest shop near Baitul Mukarram, which later relocated to its current spot beside Surma Tower.
Over time, Amir’s sons—Arif, Sharif, and Razib—joined him, transforming the enterprise into the Amir and Sons magazine store we know today. The elder Amir still visits when possible, even as his sons carry forward the legacy.
What Makes Amir and Sons Magazine Store Unique
What distinguishes this shop is not its facade but what lies within. Unlike typical bookstores, the heart of the Amir and Sons magazine store is its vast and varied magazine collection. From local favorites like Unmad, Rahashya Patrika, Ananya, and Notun Diganta to Kolkata’s Desh, Anandamela, Sananda, and Boi-er Desh, the shelves overflow with regional voices. The Business Standard, titles like The Economist, Time, Reader’s Digest, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, Vogue, New Yorker, Foreign Affairs find their way here.
More striking is the smell: a soft, sweet fragrance, a mix of old paper and ink, lingers in the air. That scent signals that this is more than a shop—it’s a sanctuary for readers.
As the sole authorized distributor for many foreign magazines in Bangladesh, the Amir and Sons magazine store remains the backbone of magazine circulation across the country. While several outlets dabble in limited imports, and pirated copies float around Nilkhet and elsewhere, few can claim the scale, authenticity, and reach that Amir and Sons commands.
Circulation, Demand, and Business Model
The Amir and Sons magazine store handles a staggering range and volume of issues. Over a hundred local and foreign magazines circulate through their system. The typical sale volumes are impressive: The Economist fetches about 1,000 copies per issue, Time roughly 800, while Reader’s Digest leads among English periodicals with some 3,000 copies. Bangla magazines from Kolkata, especially during Puja season, sell 7,000–8,000 copies per issue.
Profit margins vary significantly: for standard Kolkata magazines, profits are small—just Tk 2–3 per copy. But during special festival editions (e.g., Puja), margins can soar to Tk 30–40 per copy. English magazines, with their higher cover prices, yield about Tk 60–70 profit in many cases.
Unsold copies don’t always go to waste. The store often disposes of surplus issues via discount sales to smaller vendors in Nilkhet’s magazine alleys—sometimes selling at significantly reduced prices. That strategy helps manage space constraints and reduce losses.
Challenges: Piracy, Changing Habits, and Declining Demand
The Amir and Sons magazine store has weathered many storms—and still faces threats. A growing concern is piracy. Pirated magazine copies now appear in Nilkhet and other street markets, sometimes indistinguishable to casual readers. These undercut the business and erode consumer trust in authentic publications.
Changing reading habits pose another risk. Younger generations lean toward digital content, leaving magazines as relics. The owners admit that overall demand is lower now than in earlier decades.
Festival editions show the divide. Puja special issues from Kolkata still sell well—often clocking 10,000 copies—but Eid special issues published in Bangladesh suffer delays and low returns. Advertisement delays and poor timing mean many Eid issues arrive too late or reach readers when funds are spent or people have migrated out of cities.
Cultural and Social Significance
The Amir and Sons magazine store is more than a business—it’s a cultural institution. In a world increasingly dominated by digital screens, this shop anchors readers to tangible experience. For many, magazines evoke connection, reflection, pacing: the tactile pleasure of flipping pages, the surprise of magazine covers, long-form essays, curated visuals.
It also serves as a living archive: issues from decades past offer snapshots of history, society, and shifting aesthetics. For researchers, students, and enthusiasts, the store is a portal into evolving media landscapes.
Moreover, its clients include a broad range of social strata—from ministers and judges to students and literature lovers. As magazines from this shop reach homes of ministers, barristers, academics. That reach underscores its social penetration.
Adaptation and Survival
What does the future hold for Amir and Sons magazine store? Survival depends on adaptation—embracing innovation, diversifying, and reinforcing authenticity. Some paths forward include:
- Digital integration: Offering companion digital subscriptions or curated digital magazines could attract younger readers and preserve legacy readers.
- Special editions and niche curation: Limited, collector editions or thematic issues may appeal to connoisseurs willing to pay premium prices.
- Collaborations and events: Hosting literary talks, magazine launches, reading clubs or pop-up exhibitions could revive community engagement and foot traffic.
- Strengthening anti-piracy measures: Working with authorities, copyright agencies, and other stakeholders to crack down on pirated magazine circulation will preserve value.
- Expanding distribution channels: Partnering with educational institutions, corporations, and even cafes to retail magazines in curated spaces could widen reach.
Even as digital media rises, the Amir and Sons magazine store holds a unique appeal that blends nostalgia, authenticity, and trust. If it can innovate without losing its essence, its legacy may endure.
In sum, the Amir and Sons magazine store is not just a shop; it’s a living narrative of reading culture’s persistence in Bangladesh. In its narrow corridors and magazine-laden shelves lies a defense against the erasure of print heritage. For lovers of magazines, literature, and cultural memory, it remains a hidden treasure trove waiting to be celebrated.