MUMBAI: There is something quietly subversive about walking into a Crossword bookstore. In an age when algorithms tell us what to read, wear and watch, here is a place that still trusts you to browse, wander and be surprised. Nidhi Gupta, director at Crossword, is very much a product of that philosophy: thoughtful, unhurried and refreshingly direct. In a wide-ranging conversation, she spoke about leading in a room that does not always expect you, selling books in the age of Amazon, and why resilience, for women at the top, is as much a symptom of the system as it is a virtue.

That idea of resilience surfaces quickly when the conversation turns to women in leadership. It is a word that seems to follow female executives everywhere. Why, one wonders, is it always resilience? Is it because the system demands more of them? Gupta thinks so, and she is precise about it. “Resilience is often associated with women’s leadership because the path hasn’t always been equally structured for them,” she says. “Many women navigate additional expectations and balance multiple roles to access the same opportunities.” She is not complaining; she is diagnosing. The real ambition, she adds, is something bigger: “The goal should be to build systems where resilience becomes a strength to thrive, not just a requirement to survive.” The difference, she implies, is everything.

Has she ever felt that gap personally? In a boardroom, say, where the room wasn’t quite ready for her? “At times, yes,” she concedes. But rather than bristle or over-explain, she says she learnt to treat those moments as openings. “I’ve grown to see it as an opportunity to let perseverance and preparation do the talking. Over time, consistent performance and thoughtful decision-making build credibility. Ultimately, the most effective response is to focus on the work and let results speak for themselves.” It is, delivered quietly, rather a formidable answer.

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“The goal should be to build systems where resilience becomes a strength to thrive, not just a requirement to survive.”

Away from the boardroom and back to the bookshop floor, Gupta is animated by a different kind of challenge: keeping reading itself alive in a world of fifteen-second videos and next-day delivery. Her answer is instinctive. “In a fast-paced digital world, reading has become a safe haven, a respite from screens and the constant overflow of content,” she says. “Creating spaces where people can unwind, connect and discover books helps make reading feel aspirational again. When people find stories that resonate with them, the habit naturally finds its way back into their lives.” Crossword, in her telling, is less a shop and more a cure.

Running that shop, of course, is the harder part. Physical retail has a formidable rival in the form of a website that will deliver your book by morning, often cheaper. Gupta does not flinch from the reality. “One of the toughest challenges is competing with the convenience and speed that online platforms offer,” she says. But she is equally clear about her answer: stop trying to out-Amazon Amazon. “Physical retail has to go beyond just selling products and focus on creating meaningful in-store experiences. The real opportunity lies in building spaces that offer discovery, community and human connection, things that algorithms cannot easily replicate.”

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The pandemic, oddly, handed her a piece of evidence for exactly that argument. Consumer behaviour shifted in ways that surprised even seasoned retailers. “A noticeable shift has been the renewed desire for real-world experiences,” she observes. After long months online, people began gravitating back towards physical spaces, slower rhythms and meaning. “In retail, this means customers are not just looking to buy something but to discover, connect and spend time in meaningful environments.” For a bookstore, that is rather good news.

“Impact, to me, means making a difference in the lives of the people you touch – the teams you work with, the customers you serve and the authors creating meaningful work.”

Then there is the price question, the one that follows every physical retailer around like a persistent rain cloud. Is it a losing battle? Gupta refuses to frame it that way. “Price can be a challenge for physical bookstores when compared to online platforms. But bookstores don’t compete on price alone,” she says. “Our strength lies in discovery, curation and experience. When customers walk into a store, they are not just buying a book, they are discovering ideas, authors and stories they might never have found.” No algorithm, however finely tuned, can quite manufacture the feeling of stumbling upon a book that feels made for you.

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Quick-commerce now wants a piece of the book category too, those apps promising delivery in twenty minutes. Threat or opportunity? She doesn’t hesitate. “Opportunity. Quick-commerce expands access and convenience for readers, especially for impulse or last-minute purchases. Physical bookstores continue to offer discovery, curation and community experiences that digital platforms cannot replicate, so both can coexist in meaningful ways.” One sells you the book you already want before midnight. The other introduces you to one you didn’t know existed.

As the business grows, the question of what scale actually demands comes into focus. At what point does ambition give way to process? “Once you connect with your customer and begin to understand what they’re truly looking for, the focus naturally shifts to operational discipline, efficiency, customer experience and thoughtful curation,” she says. “As the network grows, consistency in experience, supply chain efficiency and financial control become critical. Sustainable growth ultimately comes from balancing vision with strong systems and processes.” A bookshop can have soul and a spreadsheet. She seems to manage both.

And what does she actually want from all of it? Revenue, reach, the satisfaction of a well-run balance sheet? None of those, it turns out, come first. “Impact, to me, means making a difference in the lives of the people you touch, the teams you work with, the customers you serve and the authors creating meaningful work,” she says. “I believe our role is to get good books into the world and encourage more young people to read. If we can enrich lives through the power of books, that is real impact.” Idealistic, she might admit. But idealism, deployed strategically, tends to outlast cynicism on most balance sheets.

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The book that has shaped her own thinking most is Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog, the memoir of building Nike from nothing. “The book is an honest account of building something meaningful through persistence, experimentation and belief in a vision,” she says. “What stayed with me most is the reminder that leadership is rarely linear. It’s about resilience, trusting your instincts and building something that people truly believe in.” The parallel to her own story is not hard to spot.

“Leadership and personal life are not mutually exclusive. With the right support systems and balance, women can build meaningful careers while also nurturing their personal lives.”

For the women who will come after her, she is clear about what she hopes they inherit. “I would hope the next generation of women inherits resilience, faith in themselves and the confidence to pursue their ambitions without self-doubt,” she says. “Women often balance many roles, and the ability to do so with strength and clarity is powerful.” And the stereotype she most wants to see the back of? The stubborn idea that a woman in leadership must choose between her career and her personal life. “One stereotype I actively reject is that women leaders must sacrifice their family life to succeed, or that they cannot have everything,” she says. “Leadership and personal life are not mutually exclusive. With the right support systems and balance, women can build meaningful careers while also nurturing their personal lives.” It is a line delivered not as comfort but as a correction.

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Nidhi Gupta runs a company built on the premise that people still want to hold a book in their hands and be surprised by what they find inside. In a world of frictionless convenience, that is either hopelessly romantic or shrewdly counter-cultural. Judging by Crossword’s endurance, it is rather more the latter.