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Running a Bookstore
Key Roles in the Business
Promoting Books
Business Realities

A bookstore is a complex operation. Running one requires a nuanced understanding of both the publishing industry and the many needs and desires of readers, as well as the close cooperation of several varieties of trained professionals.

Key Roles in the Business

  • Buyers: Buyers are responsible for selecting which books to sell. They meet periodically with sales reps from publishers and distributors, listen to their sales pitches, and select from their catalogs. They also purchase based on their own informed guesses and staff and customer requests. Buyers also negotiate discounts and payment terms, which are generally 30-60 days net. In this, buyers who purchase in large quantities (i.e., at chain stores) have a distinct edge. Buyers must know their customers well, juggle numbers and inventory with skill, and respond quickly to often brief sales opportunities.
  • Managers: Bookstore managers tend to be book lovers with previous experience in retail bookselling. A mind for detail, devotion to customer service, and strong teaching skills are essential attributes, as running a bookstore is a labor-intensive affair that depends for its survival on the good will of customers. Keeping the staff motivated and informed is a continual process, and keeping costs down and sales up is crucial in this low-profit-margin business.
  • Promotions manager: This position differs in title and responsibilities: in a small independent bookstore, the manager may take care of promotion; in large chains, much of the promotion is centralized. Most mid- to large-sized bookstores, however, have one full-time promotions manager, whose many activities are outlined below, in Promoting Books. The promotion manager works closely with the manager and buyer to plan promotion of forthcoming titles.
  • Staff: Though some positions require little experience (such as cashier), managers look for informed, experienced "book people" like themselves to help in all areas, particularly customer service. Many staff, especially in large independents, are career book professionals, and their depth and breadth of knowledge can be one of the bookstore's chief assets. Staff are often assigned one or more sections of the store, and may reorder stock in those sections, suggest new titles to the buyer, and/or post their own written book recommendations.
Promoting Books

There are many ways to promote books, and creative booksellers are always coming up with new ones. Some of the more established methods include the following:

  • Placement. The more prominently placed a book is, the better it sells. Competition for the choice real estate is accordingly intense. The large chain stores commonly lease display space to publishers--an added expense that publishers often feel obliged to pay in order to compete. Independents usually choose which titles to feature, but take on the occasional paid placement because the money is welcome and/or they like the title. Placing a title face-out and in several relevant sections is a kind of minimal promotion.
  • Author readings and signings. A surefire and generally free way to increase sales is to enlist the help of the author. Readers love to connect books with their authors. Extra traffic in the store also means more impulse buys.
  • Posting recommendations and reviews. Many stores encourage their staff to pick favorites and write short recommendations. Published reviews can be photocopied and posted as well.
  • Newsletters. Many stores send regular circulars to their customers, in which they list upcoming events and new titles.
  • Themed displays. Gathering related books about anything from local history to Princess Di is often a good way to move backlist titles.

Business Realities

Easily the most-ballyhooed trend in retail bookselling is the recent rise and predominance of the chain store. Independent bookstores and their advocates decry this trend as a threat to diversity and local identity. Whether or not these claims are justified, the threat to independent bookstores is quite real. They have seen their market share decline by 25% in the last four years alone, according to the Book Industry Study Group, and many have been forced out of business.

Actually, the bookstore is only the most recent business to be swept by the wave of corporate consolidation that has already transformed many retail and entertainment industries, as well as newspaper, magazine, and book publishing. At least in the publishing industry, consolidation has in part been motivated by fear of declining revenues, as other media (online and audiovisual) increasingly compete for consumers' attention.

A similar situation obtains in retail bookselling. While overall sales of books in the U.S. has held relatively steady in the last few years, fears of a decline in reading are perennial. As for bookstores, their market share has been steadily eroded--most recently by online bookselling, which is widely seen as the most potent threat yet. Accordingly, bookstores are intensifying their efforts to attract and keep customers. Some of them, especially chains such as Barnes & Noble, are jumping into the online market with varying degrees of aggression.

The upshot is that running a bookstore, especially an independent, is presently challenging and fraught with risk.


 

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