Green Apple merging 2 stores on Clement
San Francisco’s Green Apple Books is downsizing, with plans for the bookstore to close one of its four storefronts in September.
The Fiction & Music Annex at 520 Clement St. in the Inner Richmond will be consolidated into the company’s main bookstore at 506 Clement St. on the same block.
The move is meant to focus the store’s product offerings on books and will reduce the inventory of magazines, records, gifts and used DVDs, according to a blog post.
“We opened the annex in 1996 in a climate of ascendant ‘superstores’ like Barnes & Noble and Borders. This was before Amazon was a big player, and we were trying to increase our book inventory and add other products,” the company said. “The depth and breadth of the book selection aren’t shrinking appreciably, but we are curating to the current demand.”
Numerous bookstores and other retailers have struggled during the pandemic, which forced them to close for months.
Green Apple Books said the coronavirus pandemic was only a minor factor in the decision and the store has seen strong support from both customers and in government aid.
“While bookstores always operate on razorthin margins and rely wholly on consumer support, please know that our bookstores are not in financial distress,” the company said.
It received a Paycheck Protection Program loan between $150,000 and $350,000 last year to help preserve 39 jobs, according to government data. The store also benefited from San Francisco’s reimbursement for one week of sick leave pay, said coowner
“While bookstores always operate on razorthin margins and rely wholly on consumer support, please know that our bookstores are not in financial distress.” Green Apple Books, which will have three stores remaining open
Pete Mulvihill.
Mulvihill said the downsizing would result in reduced hours, but he hopes to avoid layoffs and rely on normal worker attrition. The company’s staff is unionized and any cuts would be subject to negotiation, he said.
Instore sales are down around 25%, but online sales have grown and the store saw sales in December that were similar to prepandemic levels, Mulvihill said.
“The website truly saved our butt,” he said.
Other Bay Area bookstores have turned to online fundraisers. Marcus Books in Oakland, the oldest Blackowned bookstore in the country, raised over $261,000 last year for its 60th anniversary. North Beach’s City Lights Booksellers raised $510,000, while Dog Eared Books in the Mission raised $22,847.
Green Apple Books said on Twitter that it wasn’t planning on doing a fundraiser and thanked customers for their support.
The company’s 506 Clement St. lease runs until 2029. The 520 Clement St. lease allowed an early exit this year, Mulvihill said.
Green Apple’s Sunset store at 1231 Ninth Ave. and its Browser Books branch at 2195 Fillmore St. aren’t affected by the consolidation.
Mulvihill said that Clement Street has seen steady foot traffic thanks to its restaurants and grocery stores, which has made it more lively than downtown.
“There’s still some beautiful and wonderful things about the city,” he said. “I don’t think the city is dead. It’s just going through one of its many rebirths.”