As the Koorong bookstore chain enters a third life, after growth across Australia under its founding family ownership with the Bootes family, then a period in the Bible Society, and since March this year, Excelsia College, the chain is changing shape.
Two regional stores, in Port Macquarie and Armidale in northern NSW, have shut. Both of these stores closed on March 28. This change of ownership occured in March 2025 (I have corrected the date) , so the closures belong in the Excelsia part of the Koorong story.;
Another big change – for Sydneysiders at least – will be the departure of the Weat Ryde store for new premises in Melrose Park in mid-May. The convenience of getting off at West Ryde station for the store will be lost.
But a new store in the new owner’s Pennant Hills campus is close by Pennant Hills station, and this writer prefers that leafy station. And there’s customer parking too.
Leaving the old West Ryde location marks another shift from Koorong’s past. The building, once a pub, was renovated by the Bootes family for Koorong when they outgrew a bunch of shops the other side of the station. Before then, the shop was in the family garage in Koorong Street, Marsfield.
The West Ryde store was sold by the Bootes family last March for $16m. CBRE, the sales agents, reported it was sold on a 2.44% net yield. The new owners would likely seek a higher rent.
Image: The West Ryde store
How incredibly sad to see the changes that have happened to Koorong face-to-face Book Stores – particularly the closure of local Stores such as Port Macquarie.đŸ¥¹