About Company

MAIN VALUES OF JANIS ROZE Ltd:

  • Tradition
  • Responsibility
  • Competence
  • Modernity

 

MISSION OF JANIS ROZE Ltd:

Our mission is to enable development, learning and improvement.

 

VISION OF JANIS ROZE Ltd:

Wishing to be the most valued and respected retailer both as a real shop and as an Internet shop as well as become an acknowledged and marketable wholesaler offering our clients a wide choice of books, board games, toys, school supplies, office products and hobby supplies.

 

HISTORY OF JANIS ROZE Ltd:

 

In 1914 a company J. Roze was founded by Janis Roze. The company initially did blank printing and other printing work. 

Jānis Roze

Straight away after the war Janis Roze managed to rent a space for a book shop and for a rubberstamp and metal stamp manufacturing workroom on 3 Kr. Barona Street. Before long he also bought a space nearby – on 5 Kr. Barona Street in which there was a book shop that was shut up in war time. It previously belonged to D. Golts. Janis Roze bought this shop with all the furnishings and goods in 1923 and called it “J. Roze, grāmatas un rakstāmlietas” (J. Roze, Books and Stationery).

Barona ielas vecais veikals

The printing house, the shop and the stamp manufacturing workroom only were tools to reach his main goal – book publishing. In 1918 he published the first book – it was “Svešvārdu grāmatu ar dzīvē un rakstos visbiežāk lietojamo svešvārdu paskaidrojumiem” (A Dictionary of Most Frequently Encountered Foreign Words) that was compiled by him.

Initially J. Roze published a remarkable number of textbooks and calendars, earning money for publishing more serious literary works. The work of publisher was highly appreciated especially for publishing volumes of Latvian writers as well as for series “Jaunatnes literatūra” (Juvenile Literature), plays for amateur performances and the artistic quality of certain works. During his active years Janis Roze published more than 750 titles. Including issues of the journal “Piesaule” (Sunny Side) the number of titles reached 850. The total number of copies of all titles was approximately 2 millions.

Pirmie izdevumi

In 1940 the enterprise was nationalized by Soviet authorities but Janis Roze was exiled to Siberia where he died of starvation in 1942.

The printing house and the stamp manufacturing workroom were eliminated but the bookshop was renamed “Rīgas 3.grāmatnīca” (The 3rd Bookshop of Riga). In the 70ties it was renamed “Dzintars”. After a long and difficult struggle the shop was renamed “Jāņa Rozes grāmatnīca” on the 4th of July, 1988.

After Latvia regained its independency in 1992 there was an enterprise Janis Roze Ltd established which took over the rights of the enterprise J. Roze that was founded in 1914. The dream of Janis Roze revived. In 1995 National trade enterprise “Jāņa Rozes grāmatnīca” was added to it.

The new company was growing very fast. In the 90ties it had become one of the biggest retailers of books and stationery that due to foreign connections offered books of more than 100 various foreign publishers in English, French, German, Russian and other foreign languages. Janis Roze Ltd began to actively purchase foreign stationery from Denmark, France, Germany, Austria, Holland and other countries as well as became the official distributor of the Korean company “Dong A” in Latvia.

In 1994 on Elizabetes Street Janis Roze Ltd opened the first modern bookshop in Latvia where books and other goods were not behind the counter anymore but freely accessible to clients. Soon after that the bookshop on Kr. Barona Street was also reconstructed the same way.  

In 1997 after publishing a fairytales book by Karlis Skalbe book publishing had started anew. 

In 1997 a bookshop was opened in the first modern shopping center DOLE in Latvia.

In 1998 Janis Roze Ltd opened the first Internet bookshop in Latvia (www.jr.lv) that also became the first Internet shop in our country that accepted payment with credit cards.

In 2000 a wholesale trade of books, stationery and decorations began.

In the end of 2001 to separate book selling from book publishing there was a separate enterprise for book publishing founded named “Jāņa Rozes apgāds” (Janis Roze Publishers Ltd).

In 2013 after reconstruction Janis Roze Ltd opened their first concept store (in the shopping center SPICE). The concept store is spacious, with a new design, offering clients a new shopping model, new experience and new emotions.

Konceptveikals

Two more shops were reconstructed in the same way – one in the shopping center “Galerija Centrs” and other one in the shopping center “Origo”. In the concept stores our clients are offered a vast and handy layout of branded goods as well as a friendly, helpful, knowing and positive staff providing an inspiring and relaxed shopping atmosphere.

The enterprise keeps on developing regardless the fact that it was affected by the national economic crises during which many of Janis Roze Ltd bookshops were closed. Afterwards there were new, more modern shops opened instead. 

Currently Janis Roze Ltd has 35 bookshops in Latvia, as well as an Internet bookshop (www.jr.lv) and Janis Roze Publishers Ltd.