Trends are favorable in the last few years with indie bookstore sales increasing
By Tiana Kennell
The Shreveport Times
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — The pages keep turning, but booksellers aren’t convinced they’ve come to their final chapter.
The printed word relies less and less on ink and paper, and bookstores are dealing with the same change. They rely on die-hard paper-page readers to sell books, and brick-and-mortar shops big and small are diversifying their offerings in a desperate bid for relevance.
“Certainly there has been a decline in big bookstores, but I don’t think that that means there’s been a decline in books themselves,” said Kate Hesson, owner of The Sleepy Hollow: Books and Gifts in Shreveport.
“There is still a wonderful undercurrent of people who will always keep print books alive, whether that means another resurgence of big bookstores or little stores like mine caring for and selling used and rare books.”
Hesson didn’t start out as a bookseller, and even her own storefront which opened in September wasn’t rooted in paper. She approached her dream for a bookstore strategically, relying on her already prospering business of her handmade candle line, Zombee Candle, to set the foundation.
“There is always a concern when opening any type of business, but since I had already established my candle business, I thought the books would serve as a secondary source of income within the store instead of the primary source of income, which took some pressure off of the whole bookstore idea,” Hesson said.
If paperbacks aren’t relegated to secondary products at more established bookstores, they’re on their way.
Barnes and Noble’s sales of the toys, games, vinyl and gift category increased by 14.9 percent while adult trade and juvenile book sales decreased — although there were a higher sale in coloring books and related supplies, according to Publishers Weekly. Financial reports show a 4.5 percent decline in overall U.S. retail sales in the second quarter, which ended Oct. 31.
Barnes and Noble CEO Ron Boire reported it will close 10 stores in the fiscal 2016 — opposed to the 13 previously stated — due to the “improving retail environment,” the Publishers Weekly report stated. Also, the company is planning a new prototype for its stores, but the details have not been disclosed.
The Barnes and Noble store in Shreveport has been open 18 years, and McKenzie Hobbs, community business development manager there, says overall sales are up with their niche categories growing. The cafe also has increased its non-perishable merchandise, but the store’s sales are still 85 percent books.
“The things Barnes and Noble is doing to keep the store fresh and up with the times with all the trends going on besides book stuff is helping to keep the business in here,” Hobbs said. “It’s trying to get and keep the younger generations in the stores. We’ve been boosting our SHC — which is specialty, hobbies and collectibles.”
Big box bookseller Books-A-Million opened its 2nd and Charles stores five years ago, making nostalgic items such as comic books, vinyl records and video games a centerpiece of sales. For the first nine months of 2015, Book-A-Million sales were down 0.6 percent from 2014 with net loss at $18.2 million, according to a report by Publishers Weekly.
“Bookstores that are willing to change with the times will always be there. There will always be a want for physical media and physical things. There’s something about having a tangible item,” said Daniel Savage, general manager of the 2nd and Charles bookstore in Bossier City.
The inclusion and expansion of nostalgic niche items has attracted customers like Edgar Perez.
Perez, a 30-year-old Bossier City resident, has been shopping at bookstores since being a student meant purchasing required reading material for class. But it wasn’t until Books-A-Million on Airline Drive in Bossier City closed to reopen as 2nd and Charles that Perez was really drawn to return as a frequent bookstore customer.
Perez said he frequents 2nd and Charles due to their focus on the “geek culture” merchandise, such as comic books, anime, action figures and vinyl records.
“I don’t know what it was like before, but it didn’t appeal to me to go to Books-A-Million,” Perez said. “I see it more as a variety store. They sell secondhand items like game consoles and games and vintage stuff you wouldn’t find at a regular store like Kmart or Walmart.”
The Bossier City store is one of many test markets across the country, Savage said, offering trips down memory lane experience. Creating its unique identity in the community has worked for the store’s perceived success.
“If you’re not willing to change with times some stores may go away, I don’t know,” Savage said. “But I do know with 2nd and Charles and stores like us are showing very good increases year to year. The company is growing quickly and we’re at 26 stores right now and may be up to 50 next year. We’ve been growing very fast.”
The Sleepy Hollow sells used books between $1 to $12 and rare books from $20 to $200.
The small business also sells a host of locally made products, such as Coven Co. beauty line, JoBean Cards, X&O Designs embroidery art, Highland Handmade laundry detergent, platters by The Invitation Mom, handmade treasures by Resonate, and jewelry from Love, Olive and Natural Nirvana.
“I really expected the books to be a backdrop because my Zombees are pretty popular, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with my book sales,” she said. “I’d say book sales take up about 30 percent of my sales each month.”
Fewer than six months in the business, Hesson said the response from locals have been positive and supportive and business has been good.
On a national level, trends are favorable in the last few years with indie bookstore sales increasing by almost 8 percent in 2012 over the previous year and continuing in growth in the years to follow, according to Dan Cullen, senior strategic officer for the American Booksellers Association. The ABA is a nonprofit trade organization helping independent bookstores to succeed through education, advocacy and other services.
“For the sixth year in a row ABA bookstore membership has grown, with stores operating in more than 2,200 locations,” Cullen said. “These numbers are ABA bookstore members, which is not the same as the total number of independent stores in the U.S. — though it is safe to say that the lion’s share of them are ABA members.”
The ABA also reported more new bookstores have opened, established stores are finding new owners and surge of new owners, managers and booksellers coming into the business.
“All of this is a result of the fact that indie booksellers remain a resilient and entrepreneurial group,” Cullen said.
