Are book stores over?

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Border's owned Walden books are are going through an organized shut down

Borders and B&N are both deep into cost cutting in the attempt to preserve profits, and rumor has it not succeeding.

Elliot Bay Books in Seattle just moved in a last ditch effort to stay alive.

Powells book in Portland is in trouble

Quote:

Right. But the overall dollars have dropped because you're not selling that twenty-five-dollar book. Fewer dollars are coming in. So it's been a challenge. And we've had to do several things in the course of the last year to accommodate that.

Such as?
Well, we had to reduce the number of people working in the company, which we did through not filling positions when people left.

But no one was let go?
No one was let go, no. At one moment we were within two weeks of seriously considering it, but then the numbers looked like they maybe didn't require it, so we backed off. You don't do that casually. You don't turn people loose in this economic environment. I really didn't want to do it, and fortunately we didn't have to. We had twelve months of down business. But [last] September we had our first up month, so that was certainly good news

http://www.pw.org/content/inside_indie_bookstores_powell_s_books_in_portland_oregon?article_page=3

National (american) book sales are anemic

Quote:

New York, NY, April 7, 2010--The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has today released its annual estimate of total book sales in the United States. The report, which uses data from the Bureau of the Census as well as sales data from eighty-six publishers inclusive of all major book publishing media market holders, estimates that U.S. publishers had net sales of $23.9 billion in 2009, down from $24.3 billion in 2008, representing a 1.8% decrease. In the last seven years the industry had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.1%.

http://www.publishers.org/main/IndustryStats/indStats_02.htm

And Amazon is cleaning up, growing its north America book sales 11% in 2009 at the expense of everyone else.

And best of all.....Electronic books are surging in popularity

ARE BOOK STORES RELEGATED TO THE DUST BIN OF HISTORY?

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No.

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I enjoy going to book stores and browsing the shelves. Online is great if you know exactly what you want and you can wait a few days to get it, but if you are looking for something to read tonight and you want to take a chance on something interesting, the bookstore is the way to go. We go to our local Books a Million weekly. I'd say the small book seller is in trouble from BAM, Borders, B&N and the Internet, but that's the same thing that is affecting small retailers in general.

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Are book stores over?

Damn I hope not. Half of my reference material is in book stores to the point where I have to threaten people not to buy it so I can keep reading it.

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seems to be a walmartization of the book store, right now in canada there's basically one large chain operating as 3 stores (Chapters, Indigo, Coles), still independents holding on, but even they are getting squeezed, i love a good books tore

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I don't think so.

I frequent the big chain bookstores-- here it is Barnes and Nobles and Border's. They have a big enough selection that I can browse, and the addition of decent coffee makes going an enjoyable experience.

Philosophically, I would like to say that small independent bookstores are better. But in all honesty I enjoy going to the big chain stores. They are doing a good job at providing the selection and environment that I am looking for.

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@ebrown p,

usually a better selection of specialty or less than mainstream books in the independents, local authors, local histories, subjects that pertain to the area

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@ebrown p,

The greatest b ookstore Ive come across was "The Tattered Cover" in Denver. It hd a very wide selection and I always wondered how they could stay profitable.
Then I found out differently.

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@hawkeye10,

I think the slowdown in sales is mostly the result of the downturn in the economy. For many people, buying books is somewhat of a luxury. When money is tight, they may take books out of the public library rather than purchase them.

People might also buy less expensive paperbacks, rather than the more high priced hardbacks, during a recession, and that would also cut into profits.

The smaller, independent bookstores might not be able to ride out the recession, but the larger sellers and chains should be all right--and they also sell more than just books, so that helps too.

I think we'll always have bookstores around. Many people love holding a book, and would not like an electronic reader.

Books aren't affected by changing technology as much as other things are. Books have been pretty much the same since the invention of the printing press. I just don't see the majority of people ditching books in favor of a Kindle.

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@firefly,

Quote:

I think the slowdown in sales is mostly the result of the downturn in the economy. For many people, buying books is somewhat of a luxury. When money is tight, they may take books out of the public library rather than purchase them.

I certainly think that more is going on.Young people do not read as much, and it is now clear that e-books at minimum are going to be a significant portion of book sales.

Most of the independent are already gone so it is the borders and B&N that are now in question. So far they have not been closing stores but they are far from healthy, and are cutting costs. There are fewer books in my outlets, and fewer employees. It has long been impossible to find an employee in one of these stores who knows books. I was at elliot bay books this spring and was shocked to overhear an employee recommending books as if they might have actually read them, for while this used to be the norm most chain employees dont seem to know anything more than what their computer terminal tells them. This conversation felt nostalgic

Video stores became DVD stores but the business changed, Blockbuster and Hollwood are bleeding money and closing stores like mad trying to hold on to something. But they are done, the business model of selling/renting movies in dedicated stores no longer works. I am not convinced that book stores avoid this fate.

I once refused to do online book buying, but I am. I am getting used to it.I walk into bookstores far less often now and even when I do I often don't buy more than a latte.

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Once in a great while I go to the big bookstores but, mostly, I get my books from the Book-of-the-Month Club. I like the catalogs describing what is out there, though I seldom ever buy their pick for BOM. They are a habit, and publish a cheaper copy - say $15- $18 instead of $25 or more for Top Ten or whatever.

I would buy books even if I couldn't really afford them. Amazon.com has some fairly inexpensive used books. My oldest son who is a voracious reader, now listens to audio books. I'm wondering about the Kindle.

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@hawkeye10,

One of the reasons I buy books online is because the B&N near me is so crowded I can never find a place to park, and they have a very large parking lot. They don't look like business is slowing down at all.

You can't compare video/DVD stores like Blockbuster and Hollywood to bookstores--those outlets are affected by changing technology as well as lots of competition. Why should people bother to go to those stores when the same films are often available on cable TV, or can be ordered from Netflix without having to worry about late fees? People can also purchase videos and DVDs at the chain bookstores, large electronics stores (like BestBuy), even drug stores, as well as online. The product is so widely available, you don't really need specialty stores.

The same is not true of bookstores. The main competition for the large bookstores would be online book sellers. The other main source of competition would be public libraries. But, those are about the only venues I can think of where you can find a huge selection of books.

I do think that economics is a factor. The price of books has risen, and currently, consumers are still keeping a fairly tight grip on their purse strings. All retailers are having similar problems, I don't know that the larger bookstores are especially unique in that regard.

The concept of a real material book--one with printed paper in a binding, that you can hold in your hand--is deeply rooted in the history of our culture and our social conditioning. Books haven't changed in form in centuries. If electronic readers become more widely used, it won't be for a while, and not until they substantially drop in price. And I still think that many people will still prefer a "real book" rather than an electronic device. People still go to movie theaters rather than watch DVD's, and some people will still want to go to bookstores and purchase books rather than use electronic readers.

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@djjd62,

djjd62 wrote:

seems to be a walmartization of the book store. . . .

Un huh. Carried to extremes in Sams Club. Really low prices on the books the computer says are top sellers. All the rest can go take a hike - even those with the morally correct outlook that could have make it into the store.

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@firefly,

Quote:

One of the reasons I buy books online is because the B&N near me is so crowded I can never find a place to park, and they have a very large parking lot. They don't look like business is slowing down at all

real numbers trump your personal experience

Quote:

Although Barnes & Noble achieved steady annual revenue growth until 2008, it has been suffering from diminishing margins, with its company-wide operating margin falling from 4.8% in 2006 to 2.8% in FY2008,[3] despite aggressive closings of its under performing B. Dalton stores. Declining operating margins were mainly caused by higher discounts offered to compete with lower-priced online booksellers, one of the main negative pressures the print industry is facing right now. due to a number of negative industry trends. [4]

Compounding this digital effect is the onslaught from e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com (AMZN) and retail superstores such as Wal-Mart and Costco Wholesale (COST), which have the ability to significantly undercut brick and mortar retailers' prices on books, CDs, DVDs and other offerings. Though BKS has a website, 89% of their sales come from their B&N locations, and this pricing pressure from both online booksellers and retail giants has squeezed margins.[3] In addition, the advent of digital media devices to facilitate book reading, such as the Kindle 2 produced by Amazon and the IPhone, also threaten the market share of print book retailers, as digital devices offer more portability (the Kindle 2 already has more than 200,000 books available) and price competition. In fact, BKS closed Q1 2009 with a 4% decrease in sales revenue,[5] whereas Amazon.com (AMZN) saw its 1Q 2009 sales revenue for books, CDs, music, and DVDs jump by more than 7%, largely due to the popularity of its Kindle 2 device and Kindle books.[6

http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Barnes_&_Noble_(BKS)

And Borders is doing even worse..

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@hawkeye10,

Quote:

Barnes & Noble Continues to Bleed, Could It Survive?
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 2/23/2010

You can't fight a ghost. But that's exactly what Barnes & Noble (BKS: Charts, News, Offers), the largest U.S. bricks-and-mortar bookseller is doing. Just over a decade ago, Amazon.com (AMZN: Charts, News, Offers) arrived at the scene and threw the bookseller world upside down. The young online retailer had minimal expenses compare to its rivals, and quickly ate into their profit and market share. The ubiquity of the Internet, the explosion of mobile technology, the Kindle, and finally the recession of 2009 are accelerating the death of the few remaining survivors. The most notable victim is the Borders Group (BGP: Charts, News, Offers), who recently announced that it is laying off employees and closing 200 Waldenbooks stores. However, Barnes & Noble is still fighting. But you know it is a losing battle, and the latest quarterly report made it evident. Can Barnes & Noble survive? Will it still be around in 10 years?

http://www.investorguide.com/stock-analysis.php?ticker=BKS

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It seems clear to me there is a market for a place to go to browse and buy books.

I choose to go to real bookstores quite often (even though I use Amazon for technical books, and when I know exactly what I want and can wait a couple of days). There are many customers who feel as I do.

I would contrast this with movies... with the advent of cable OnDemand, and online movies... I haven't visited a movie store (either to buy or to rent) in at least 4 years (I don't even remember the last time I rented or bought a physical movie).

But the relationship that I have to books is different-- and I don't think I am unusual in this... I love the experience of choosing a book from a shelf and sitting down to get acquainted. This experience is even better when it is in a relaxed environment (Barnes and Noble does this much better then Walmart does), and especially with a decent cup of coffee on hand.

I am sure the number of bookstores we need is decreasing, and there is a natural tension between chains and smaller independent book stores.

But there are customers who want real book stores. And as long as this is the case, the physical book store will be around.

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When I moved to humboldt county in 1999, the walden bookstore at the local mall was a kind of joke to me. Sorry, but simpletonville. On the other hand there were at least two extremely good locally owned book stores in Eureka and they are still going, however strong or not.

Borders, or was it Barnes and Noble, showed up later at that mall, but the most interesting books contined at the other local places.

Admission, I probably knew the owners by the time I left the area and that has no relevance.

In no particular order -

http://www.eurekabooksellers.com/ (fabulous building as well as the books)
I met the new owner a couple of times - he wouldn't know me from Adam, as they say.

and Booklegger
http://www.yelp.com/biz/booklegger-eureka

Booklegger was hit by a recent big earthquake, and so I am planning to wear my booklegger tee shirt when it gets warmer here.

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@ebrown p,

Quote:

It seems clear to me there is a market for a place to go to browse and buy books.

I choose to go to real bookstores quite often (even though I use Amazon for technical books, and when I know exactly what I want and can wait a couple of days). There are many customers who feel as I do.

that does not mean that the economics work....for now publishers are still agreeing to wait for payment until the book sells, B&N and Borders get to stock their stores with zero carrying charge. As Amazon continues to whip their ass, as fewer of the books get sold in brick and mortar stores, the publishers are going to at some point say enough is enough. Already Brick and mortar can not compete on price, and this is going to get worse. Who has ever stayed in business long term when they can't compete on price?

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@ossobuco,

ah, one of the booklegger earthquake photos -
http://able2know.org/topic/126216-9#post-3872053

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@hawkeye10,

But a book in hand is often a joy and that doesn't change with the economy.

I'll agree books will gradually disappear, but then they may be gradually more valuable. People will use the booksellers online - but I think not everyone will.

I'm betwixt on Powell's books, in that they buy up from folding independent bookstores (hiss/or maybe not). They also have been pricey to me, versus amazon. But, I've liked their range, and their postage fees, over a certain amount. Whatever, I certainly hate to see Powell's go under.

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Are book stores over?

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