I just finished Doug Stephens’ book The Retail Revival. This timely book is the most interesting business book I’ve read on the future of retail since The New Rules of Retail (see blog) a couple of years ago.
On surviving in the new age of consumerism, two statements Stephens makes in the first ten pages stand out:
1. Stephens lists brands that are under his “deathwatch” and his list includes Barnes and Noble. All of the brands on his list have one thing in common: “They each missed or ignored at least one universe-shaping shift in their market, and never quite recovered from it.” (xi)
2. “The bookstore channel has gone to great lengths in its attempt to convince us that deep down we all still love the smell and feel of paper books, when every available statistic suggests that we actually prefer the smell and feel of tablets and e-readers.” (xviii)
My reaction to these comments:
While at the very least B&N may appear to be backsliding, this bookstore chain is going through a re-branding process. And we don’t know the final result or what B&N will become. I’m not so sure B&N knows where they’re going either.
On the second statement, I simply disagree. I feel physical books are important to readers’ lives. Home libraries are what families are built around. I also feel that relationships with booksellers are meaningful associations within any community.
With all this being said, I’m getting to what this blog is really about.
I am proud of the announcement that Square Books as Publisher’s Weekly Bookstore of the Year in 2013. (see PW announcement here) My friends Lisa and Richard Howorth founded their bookstore in 1979. For over 30 years, they have made their community a better place to live. Their contributions have not just given Oxford something to be proud of but the whole state of Mississippi.
Richard and Lisa do an exceptional job of demonstrating why real bookstores won’t go away. Their dedication of a lifetime of vitality through books and reading have changed their culture and will have positive effects on generations to come.
So as a fellow bookseller, I applaud their achievement with a standing ovation. I consider Square Books a shining example that contradicts Stephens’ earlier statement about real books. I feel now is the time for Real Book Store Revitalization. If book people are wishing they had the strength and willpower to build a bookstore in their community, now is a great time to do so.
As B&N expands its retailing brand into what–we do not know, now is the time for the Real Book Seller to emerge by forming Real Book Stores and selling real books. If this blog touches the inclination of any wanna-be bookseller, I suggest you travel to Square Books in Oxford and experience the pinnacle of what a bookstore can be and what bookselling can accomplish for its local environment.
Once again, congratulations to Lisa, Richard, Cody, Lynn and the Square Books gang on making a difference. Square Books is a Real Book Store.
Link to abbreviated online version of The Clarion Ledger article on Square Books
Bookstore Keys Series on Lemuria Blog
From 2013: A Message from Emily St. John Mandel from My Bookstore From 2011/2012: Reading One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of amazon.com (March 19) Where will e-book sales level out? (June 2) Indie Bookstores Buying from Amazon? (June 1) BEA Roundup (May 19) Lemuria’s Headed for NYC (May17) Barnes & Noble Bankrupt? (April 28) Decluttering the Book Market: Ads on the latest Kindle (April 14) Independents on the Exposed End of the Titanic? (April 6th) Border’s Bonuses (March 30) The Experience of Holding a Book (March15) Finding “Deep Time” in a Bookstore (March 8th) Reading The New Rules of Retail by Lewis & Dart (March 3) The Future Price of the Physical Book (Feb 18) Borders Declares Bankruptcy (Feb 16) How Great Things Happen at Lemuria (Feb 8th) The Jackson Area Book Market (Jan 25) What’s in Store for Local Bookselling Markets? (Jan 18) Selling Books Is a People Business (Jan 14) A Shift in Southern Bookselling? (Jan 13) The Changing Book Industry (Jan 11)
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