In conversation with . . . Michael Neill
Michael Neill is owner of Mosaic Books, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Neill’s family was actively involved with independent book stores dating back to 1963, when his parents owned Black Bond Books in Brandon, Manitoba, and then later White Rock, where he family operated eight stores in the Lower Mainland.
Michael Neill’s sister now owns and operates the Black Bond chain.
Neill and his wife Michele moved to Kelowna and bought Mosaic Books in 1995, which now has 7,500 square feet of retail space and is managed by their daughter, Alicia. Son Trevor, along with Michael, operate the Bookmanager software company Michael created in 1986, currently used by 350 independent bookstores.
He spoke with Daily Courier editor James Miller in recognition of Mosaic’s 50th anniversary.
COURIER: Thinking back to your childhood, was it cool having parents in the book business?
NEILL: I was oblivious. In 1963, our bookstore had a basement and my uncle opened a hobby shop in the basement. Now that was cool. Later, when black light posters were invented, we had a black light room in the store with Jimi Hendrix posters and more. That was really cool — far out.
COURIER: What was your favourite book as a child?
NEILL: I finished high school with a C-minus in English, but only after handing in an essay about McDonald’s that I had plagiarized. I think I was too interested in girls, except Math and Science was a breeze with straight As. However, in my early 30s we now had two young kids (who are now in the business) and Michele insisted I read Bill Peet books to them. I then discovered the true love and power of books. Label me a late bloomer, but I now know that books are critical.
COURIER: I understand now, as a middleaged adult, you love non-fiction.
NEILL: Flattery will get you nowhere (I’m 61). I am obsessed about business in general and how it’s changing the world.
In 1993 I devoured Sam Walton’s Made In America, a book about the man who created Walmart and changed the world because of the technology he was pressured to spend billions on. I read George Soros’ The Crisis of Global Capitalism, and it coincided with all the challenges I suspected we would be facing.
COURIER: With books, are you good at predicting what will and won’t sell?
NEILL: You are asking the guy who was the first to start collecting sales data from fellow bookstores to identify trends.
Using the gut instinct from hundreds of book buyers along with the data, today more than ever we work as a team using truly independent minds to try and get it right. It’s the most fun part of the business.
COURIER: Of all your years in the book industry, what book, or series of books was the biggest surprise?
NEILL: In 2003, Kelowna endured a horrific fire that captured the nation’s attention.
That fall, along came the book, Firestorm. I wanted to order 4,000 copies and the publisher thought I was insane and said, “no way, we’ll give you 800 copies max.” In total, and including several trips to Costco (to buy them out), we sold 5,000 copies.
The logistics of making that happen was never repeated but the publisher was impressed.
COURIER: Are children reading as much as they used to?
NEILL: Yup, maybe more than before. Kids today are born with electronics and, unlike us boomers, there is really nothing fascinating about digital.
The very young and the teensters like books perhaps because they are an escape from digital or, like vinyl records, they are tangible.
COURIER: Is the eBook thing a threat to your industry at all?
NEILL: Whoa, how much space you got? Nope, but that’s spoken with hindsight.
About six or eight years ago bookstores were setting their hair on fire about the need to carry eBooks.
Basically, I predicted that if eBooks win the game, we’re all out of business. Over a fouryear period too many stores closed rather than renew leases, but those who weathered the wave soon found that, unlike music and videos on CD and DVD, books had something most people still wanted. Phew.
COURIER: As an independent, what’s been your secret to success staying in business so long?
NEILL: Recognize your purpose. Focus on what’s still relevant while trying new things along the way.
Don’t get emotionally attached to anything. The only constant is change. Adapt or die.
Be wary of fads. For small business, your success and uniqueness is largely because of your team’s personality. Try and keep it playful for both customers and workers.
COURIER: Were there any tough years along the way?
NEILL: We bough Mosaic in 1995 when it was already 27 years old. It had been leaderless for five years after being sold by its founder, Rhoda Moss.
Sales were already depressed and shorty after came Chapters, the new darling everyone flocked to. Sales dropped by another 30 per cent with no end in sight.
We made a bold and scary move to relocate to Bernard and expand from 3,000 to 10,000 square feet (still only about 40 per cent of Chapters’ size).
We missed our target and also ran an unprofitable in-store coffee shop (the fad). We revisited the fundamentals mentioned in Question 8 and gradually rebuilt the base. Those were tough times.
COURIER: What’s the biggest challenge the small, independent businessperson has in Canada?
NEILL: If you have survived the big box era, your current worry is online, and whether the physical shopping experience is still relevant enough.
I say “enough” because many large chains are downsizing, making you seem bigger and better to those who still appreciate local retail shops and sense of community.
Small retail will never make it playing the online game because it’s become a venture for those with very deep pockets and huge scale. It may sound corny, but it will really depend on the people in your community and their conscious effort to support local business.
COURIER: Why downtown? NEILL: For us I think it’s essential. It speaks to who we are. Having both locals and tourists meandering to just take it all in is what makes Mosaic a great addition to the downtown ambience. We love it here.
COURIER: Next to Mosaic, here in Kelowna, what’s the coolest bookstore you’ve ever visited, one we might want to check out if we’re on vacation somewhere?
NEILL: There are many, the big, the small and the quirky. They are truly independent after all. Munro’s in Victoria is a real favourite, partly because its charm continues after their key employees were handed the reigns by founder Jim Munro.
Book Warehouse in Vancouver is another, but that’s maybe because my sister (and former partner) and her daughter have kept it vibrant and unique.
COURIER: If someone was to write your autobiography, what would you want the title to be and who would be your dream author to pen such a memoir?
NEILL: The Life and Times of a Bookseller Who Read Too Little. Author, my mom, Madeline, who at 89 is still as sharp as a tack and taught me all about this business and how to make it great. Oh boy, do we have a ton of kooky stories and laughs to tell.