Apr 3, 2009

Need a morale boost? Long live independents!

Check out “Unchained success,” by Irene Sege, a story in yesterday’s Boston Globe.

There are other businesses out there where the neighborhood independent is doing just fine. The 12,600 square-foot Barnes & Noble in Boston’s Brookline neighborhood recently closed while nearby independent booksellers, like Brookline Booksmith, and a handful of others “are holding their own.”

The article said “In the 16 years Booksmith competed with Barnes & Noble in Brookline, the number of independent bookstores [in the country] plummeted from about 6,000 in the early 1990s to 2,200 today, according to the American Booksellers Association, the trade organization for independent shops. Although the overall number continues to fall, the rate of decline has slowed substantially, with more than 350 shops opening since 2005.”

“Independent booksellers in the United States, while things are very tough and even tougher in the current environment, have figured out a model that works,” said Oren Teicher, who heads the American Booksellers Association. “We don’t have any evidence that in the tough times more stores are going out of business.”

The model that works: an inviting, non-corporate environment that encourages long visits, personalized service, catering to customers needs, asking for customer input, hosting events, adding merchandise categories like gifts and used books, community involvement and offering e-commerce. Sound familiar?

“I do think there’s a swing back to valuing local and independent,” said Booksmith manager Dana Brigham. “Small and local can be good places to do business and very healthy for your community.”

Be sure to read the whole article, and you’ll find you’re in good company. Keep on keeping on!

Susan