Maliks Bookshop

From a small shop on bliss street with a side job idea and no plan, to a big successful business with 25 branches across Lebanon, this is the success story of Malik Barakat CEO and owner of Maliks Bookshop.

In 1988, guided by ambition and youthful energy, Malik, an engineering distinguished student, came up with the idea of a side job to get some extra income by offering photocopy services and selling stationery right from his own room at his parents’ house. Being a student himself, helped him relate to the needs of youth at the time, which made his small idea a growing business by opening the first Malik’s Bookshop at Bliss Street near the university he later graduated from as a top student, AUB.

His main aim was to earn extra money, but his dedication over several years and the experience he committed himself to gaining by managing that small shop at Bliss Street led him onto the path he has built today.

After many successes and the opening of bigger branches, Malik made the decision to let engineering go and focus on the job he enjoyed investing his time in growing it even more.

His parents weren’t very supportive of the idea at first, but that never stopped him from pursuing what he believed in, and year after year, they started helping him with the business.

The Turning Point

Malik worked for 8 years in an engineering company while managing his small shop, the turning point was when he opened a bigger shop at Bliss Street, which was the first step that forged his management skills, and at that point he started to feel that he wants to work on this business and make it grow, as he said to Decode.

The decision to change paths wasn’t easy at all, he needed some reassurance. And after many failures and successes, he made up his mind and chose his true passion.

“The struggle is real and continuous”, Malik says, “and I questioned myself many times if it is really worthy, because when it comes to Lebanon and the constant instability we live in, it is always hard to keep going”, but never did he give up.

Success After Another

Maliks Bookshop currently has 25 shops, providing a large variety of printing services, stationery, multimedia, gifts, arts and crafts… Because Malik managed to go with the flow and grow his business according to the needs of his clientele and he succeeded in avoiding becoming the “Kodak” of the era.

He is currently trying to encourage locally made products including some Lebanese board games, by opening a new section called “Made in Lebanon”.

30 years of experience helped Malik Barakat create a distinguished relational culture between his employees and his clients. And as he says: “Maliks bookshop is not just Malik, it is a great team of 250 Lebanese employees passionate about our work, and they are the key to our continuous innovation”.

Future Plans

It is true that Malik’s Bookshop started as a small side job idea with no clear plan for growth, but it turned out to be a big, successful business continuously creating new ideas. So be ready for an innovative one coming soon, based on a skill they excel in: “retail”! New brands are on the way!



A Word to the Young Generation

One last message from a successful businessman to the young generation of entrepreneurs and business founders: “Do not lose your enthusiasm and motivation, and don’t lose hope quickly, or set very high hopes from the beginning, you have to work really hard and let your passion guide you and be patient. Hard work always pays off and no competition can stop you”.

Malik Barakat – CEO and owner of Maliks Bookshops

Decode Season 1

Watch the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKOxNLfw4Ug&list=PLrrLJtaWizMsQc0q3u-6piTVpvDYpbKk_&index=15