INDY BOOKSTORES SUCCEEDING BECAUSE COMPETITION DIDN’T
For newly thriving independent bookstores, stories are different, but theme the same
I f you were to choose a book title to describe the state of independent book stores in the 1990s, “Bleak House” would have fit the bill.
But how things have changed. For a revived industry that has proved far more resilient than experts predicted, it’s now “Great Expectations.”
While the country’s 1,700-some “indies” have something to celebrate on Independent Bookstore Day, challenges still abound. Annual spending on books plummeted in the ’90s and has still not recovered. Profit margins on books are still razor-thin. Rents continue to rise. And Americans just aren’t voracious readers:
• The United States ranks 23rd in time devoted to reading per week among selected countries;
• 32 million Americans can’t read above the fifth-grade level;
• 19 percent of high school graduates are illiterate; and
• 25 percent of Americans haven’t read a book in the last year.
Indies are succeeding in part because their competition didn’t. “Big box” mall chains like Barnes & Noble, Borders and Walden struggled in the ’90s, and were particularly hurt by Amazon’s arrival in 1995, which led to the loss of 40 percent of bookstores in just five years.
When the Kindle arrived in 1997, people wondered if paper books — and the stores that sold them — had any future at all.
Ironically, the loss of the big chain stores provided an opening for smaller independents. They found that their emphasis on
personal service and community involvement differentiated them from the larger stores, and from cheap, fast, convenient Amazon as well. (Although some booksellers would be hamstrung without the ability to sell on Amazon themselves, according to Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Booksellers past president Mike Tuck).
Surprisingly, book stores began to do better — even prosper — and the American Booksellers Association saw its membership grow 40 percent in the last 10 years and member sales increase at just over 5 percent a year.
Two of the new entrants are Denver bookstores that seem to have the right kind of attributes that are key to the indies’ success, and they’re within a block of each other.
BookBar, which turns five years old in May, ascribes to the belief that in an online age, people still want a place to come and interact with authors and other readers, according to store manager Abbey Paxton.
“Digitization has created a personal need,” she said. ”People don’t want to see stores go away. They see book stores for their true value because they’re a place where they can hold a book and talk to someone who’s knowledgeable. Going to a book store enhances their lives in a way that sitting on a couch and having books arrive in the mail can’t.”
Paxton also said that BookBar provides “a community space.” Being able to have a glass of wine while chatting about books or listening to an author adds to that — and to the store’s financial success.
But what may seem like comfortable enjoyment to customers is possible only because of a lot of work behind the scenes in arranging for events, acquiring inventory (a “curated” inventory is a new term these days) and doing the dozens of other things required to run a business. For example, for Independent Bookstore Day, BookBar plans raffles, prizes and a “tap takeover” from Fiction Brewery, featuring beers with literary tieins. (Please, will you offer a Rex Stout?)
“It takes a lot of work, but it’s fun,” Paxton said.
Not far from BookBar in the Highlands neighborhood is an even newer entrant to the bookselling community: Second Star to the Right, a children’s book store. (Most everyone will recognize the name from “Peter Pan.”) Open for only 3½ years, Second Star is already making plans to move into a larger space.
Founded by former teachers Dea and Marc Lavoie, Second Star offers kids yoga, story time, “socially conscious story time,” toys, handcrafted items, birthday parties, baby showers, cross promotions (visit a dentist and bring in the toothbrush he gave you for $1 off), tea, coffee, cocoa — and books. But it’s the atmosphere of the store that’s the key, according to Dea Lavoie.
“We see many families that want a refuge, a nurturing place, and not just a place where someone stands behind a counter to take their money. When someone comes into our store, we welcome them, offer to hold the baby, get them a cup of tea. We’ve very hands on, and I credit our staff for that. [The store has 11 staffers, including a full-time events coordinator and social media coordinator.] Lots of families just want to sit around and read. It creates a friendly, comforting atmosphere that makes people want to be here.”
The store has found some unusual ways to involve its readers: It has two “advisory groups,” one consisting of teenagers 13-18, the other of younger kids 8-12. They’re invited to offer their opinions on books the store is considering stocking. (They also enjoy parties and movies.)
Although different in audienc- es, BookBar and Second Star share some of the same characteristics: Heavy community engagement, high-touch service, diversified offerings, and the offer of an experience unavailable from online sources.
And they work like the Dickens.