The history of the National Book Store can be traced back to the 1930s. However, the company has been formally established in 1942. Before the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II, José Ramos and Socorro Cáncio-Ramos rented a small-corner space of a Haberdashery situated at the foot of Escolta Bridge in Santa Cruz, Manila. With a starting capital of ₱211 (equivalent to ₱59,000 in 2021), the Ramoses set up their first retail bookstore selling GI novels, textbooks, and supplies.

The store was later destroyed in 1945 by war and in 1948 by a storm. After that, the store was rebuilt and converted to selling textbooks and stationery. The National Book Store began selling Philippine-themed greeting cards in the 1950s to introduce local culture and traditions.

The store quickly earned a lot of capital and expanded further with the opening of more branches in the country such as the branch located on Recto Avenue, shopping malls in Makati and Cubao, etc. National Book Store became one of the top 100 Philippine corporations in 1988, registering profits of $1 million on gross revenues of $34.7 million.

In 2015, National Book Store captures the majority of the Philippine book market having a share amounting to 80 percent and operates around 127 branches across the Philippines. It entered the education industry in 2017 with the launch of NBS College, its first institution for higher learning at the National Book Store building on Quezon Avenue. By 2018, it now has 230 branches all over the country.

According to Wikipedia