TuuuLibrería

When you think about your business, what are you most proud of?

TuuuLibrería is a very special bookshop where you decide what you pay for books. It has behind it a non-profit project to spread reading and donate books to other social projects such as NGOs, schools, etc. around the world.

What is the history of your commerce?

Our first shop was filled in 2012 with books donated by individuals and organisations and customers could take them away without having to give anything in return. We soon realised that in order to survive, we had to make it a rule to leave an anonymous and voluntary donation in our piggy banks.

In these piggy banks we have found everything: paper clips, pesetas, foreign coins, Coca Cola badges... However, we survive thanks to the clients who believe in our project and pay a responsible contribution for their book, and in spite of those who do not. We could not exist either without the volunteers who have collaborated with us over the years.

We managed to have 3 physical bookshops in Madrid and one in Barcelona and our online shop, but in 2019 we closed the bookshop in Barcelona and another one in Madrid. Now we are in Madrid in Barrio de Salamanca and Lavapiés and all over Spain thanks to our online shop.

We hope to open more bookshops in the future as we believe in the TuuuLibrería effect: having one of our bookshops in the neighbourhood makes it better.

What is your professional experience?

Alejandro de León, founder of TuuuLibrería, holds a degree in Business Administration from the Complutense University of Madrid. He is also the founder of Anima Ventures, a company builder for social impact projects, having 9 companies under the Anima umbrella. De León has set up several social impact startups such as the NGO Asociación Mayas, Bluemove Carsharing, TuuuLibrería, Microwd and Cultcards.

How has covid 19 affected your business?

With COVID-19 we had to stay closed for 3 months, and our workers in ERTE, but we managed to survive COVID-19 and we can proudly say that after the pandemic, people read more!

What services and products does your business provide?

In TuuuLibrería you decide what you pay for books. We also have surprise book bags, surprise books, and other gift products for booklovers such as tote bags, pins...

What other NGOs do you collaborate with?

We donate books to other social projects such as schools or institutes and NGOs such as:
Asociacion Vive y deja vivir, Centro Alzheimer Fundación Reina Sofía Gestión Pública, Comisión Asamblea Barrios de Tetuán, Green Peace,
Área Cultural Estrecho, NGO Aidan, Kenia
A Las Olvidadas, Plataforma por la Educación Pública de Tetuán, Asociación Hola Vecinas, Sisters Foundation, Asociación vecinal distrito Salamanca, Avanza ONG Racing Team, Plataforma de Educación Pública Tetuán or the Clan Icetónomo de Scouts de Madrid-MSC.