The Future May Be Now
I read an article in the November 16, 2009, issue of Publishers Weekly about the demise of the mall bookstore now that Borders has announced the closing of 200 Waldenbooks. Once that has been accomplished, there will be very few small-format bookstores left in malls and the author of the article, Judith Rosen, notes that there is little interest on the part of independent bookstores to fill the gap. An interview with the owner of an indy points out the basic reasons, such as high rent and decreasing traffic and, as Jon Platt, owner of Nonesuch Books & Cards in Maine asks, why would an indy do well in that environment when stores with high financial backing can’t? On the other hand, Dean and Edie Swift of Orangeburg, S.C., believe it can be done and have opened Swift Books in the Prince of Orange Mall.
The divergent opinions don’t surprise me and each indy owner has to answer the question based on conditions in his or her own area as well as personal considerations such as financial wherewithall. What does surprise me, though, is that the Swifts’ bank initially turned them down “because of the growing popularity of the Kindle and e-books” and they had to invest more of their own money to get some financing. Fortunately, they had the ability to do so although it was more than they had planned.
I’m no fan of the Kindle or any other reader because I prefer the tactile experience of a printed book or, in the case of audio books, the vast enjoyment that comes with the voice of the right narrator. Not being stupid, though, I do recognize the future of ebooks and how the electronic readers will have, are already having, an effect on brick & mortar stores. What I would not have expected is that banks are already making the assumption that brick & mortars have little chance of success because of ebooks. In other words, they apparently believe the future is here now. That does not bode well for the opening of new independent stores.
November 20, 2009
Posted in: Tales of a Bookseller
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2 Responses
Nice post. In our local mall there is a Books-A-Million still and I hope it stays there. I don’t mind Borders and the like, although I prefer indie retailers. But it is nice to have a bookstore in the mall, since two other mainstays are gone: music stores and toy stores!
LOL, good touch, but there’s no space on your blog, tsk, tsk. That’s OK, I still want to know when you publish your book
You have a BAM in a mall? I’ve never seen them in anything other than strip shopping centers. I’m not a huge fan of chain bookstores in general for obvious reasons but I’d rather see this than no bookstores in malls at all. Actually, I avoid malls whenever possible but, when I’m in one, I like to stop in at whatever bookstore is there and I can’t resist buying something. Do you think I have a book addiction?
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