DirectGroup Bertelsmann's membership-based bookstores in China will begin opening new locations in department stores and larger bookstores within the next two months, The Beijing News reports. Bertelsmann, whose book club claims 1.5 million members in China out of 35 million worldwide, has already run a test with Shanghai's Xinhua Bookstore, in which Bertelsmann was given a section of the store to manage according to its membership policies. Bertelsmann's current sales channels comprise mailing booklists out to members, and making sales online or at membership centers - small outlets with books on hand.Company CEO Ewald Walgenbach said that as a new experiment in the Chinese market, the new stores should bring the club more members. Bertelsmann is also considering setting up a similar club in the United States, offering books aimed at the overseas Chinese community.Walgenbach said that Bertelsmann may go public in the first half of next year if all goes well.Link: http://economy.thebeijingnews.com/0392/2006/0216/012@160681.htm