When Greg Schauer, owner of Between Books in Claymont, heard that Borders was going out of business he had the urge to go into the big box store on Concord Pike in Wilmington and have the last laugh.
He resisted the urge to gloat out of respect for the employees who would soon lose their jobs, but he did go into the Borders store recently to see if he could buy any used fixtures during the liquidation sale. “I feel bad for the people who are losing their jobs, but I watched so many of my friends lose their businesses.” said Schauer, who has owned his business for 31 years.
“I survived the devastation Borders brought to Delaware bookstores when they moved in to the state and will outlive them,” he added.
Independent Bookstores Look to Life after Borders
Much to their surprise, some small independents, including Between Books, have outlived the Borders bookstore chain, but few are expecting an economic windfall as a result.
It’s a twist on the familiar business tale – large chain comes in and puts the mom and pops out of business. But this story ends with the Borders bankruptcy and the liquidation of a once formidable bookselling giant. Nearly 400 stores, including one in Wilmington, another near Stanton and a Waldenbooks, owned by Borders, in the Dover mall, are closing and with it more than 10,000 jobs nationwide will disappear.
“Following the best efforts of all parties, we are saddened by this development,” said Mike Edwards, president of the chain, when the company announced the liquidation last month. “We were all working hard towards a different outcome, but the headwinds we have been facing for quite some time, including the rapidly changing book industry, eReader revolution, and turbulent economy, have brought us to where we are now.”
Who would have thought Goliath would fall and the little guy, at least some, would be left standing.
How did they do it?
“Call it tenacity. Call it willingness to work longer and harder for less. Call it luck,” surmised Gemma Buckley, owner of the Ninth Street Book Shop in downtown Wilmington, which has been a fixture in the city since the 1970s and has seen many book chains come and go.
The big chains came into Delaware and over saturated the market and hit every booksellers bottom line, including Ninth Street’s, she explained, but it’s unclear what the death of Borders will mean for business going forward.
“Will it translate into more business for us?” she asked. “I doubt it. We haven’t seen anything since they announced they were going out of business, and we don’t foresee it having any major implications for us.”
When Borders came to town, however, Buckley saw an almost immediate impact on business, particularly on the weekends. “When they first opened on Concord and then the second in Stanton, we started noticing fewer people coming in on Saturdays and that hasn’t rebounded.”
By contrast, Between Books owner Schauer has noticed a bit of an uptick since Borders made its announcement. “I’m starting to see people I haven’t seen for a while,” he said. “Some local people are coming in, saying they going to buy more local.”
But ultimately, he continued, “I won't know how Borders going out of business will affect us until after they are gone. Christmas season will be the tell.”
The State of Small Independent Book Sellers
Excerpts of interview with Between Books owner Greg Schauer
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Publishing experts foresee an initial gain for local booksellers as a result of Borders downfall.
“Most of Borders’ business is going to go somewhere,” said Mike Shatzkin, a New York-based publishing consultant. “Any independent that is close by to a closed Borders should see a pick up in business.”
The increase may end up being temporary, he speculated. Just because Borders is gone, doesn’t mean Delaware’s independent booksellers can start celebrating. There are forces in the publishing world that may ultimately do more damage to the small shops than Borders could have ever inflicted, and at the top of the list are online retailers and eBooks in particular.
Last year, consumers spent $1 billion on eBooks in the United States, and that is expected to triple by 2015, according to technology market research firm Forrester Research.
“The biggest problem for independents or any brick and mortar booksellers is the movement of sales online and eBooks,” Shatzkin said. “We have lived through 50 years where the nation’s bookstore network supported the publishing industry. That is coming to an end.”
He quoted a saying by the late economist John Maynard Keynes to make his point. “Keynes said, ‘in the long run we are all dead.’ But before we’re all dead bookstores will be dead,” he quipped.
The last booksellers that will remain standing, he added, will be more than just booksellers. “There will be bookstores built on the back of coffee bars, or stores that show films at night. They’ll become more a part of the community and that will help them survive.”
Carving a Niche May Be Key to Survival for Local Bookstores
Indeed, it may be all about finding a niche.
Jocques LeClair, owner of Proud in Rehoboth Beach, hasn’t seen his business impacted by the big chains, including Borders, because he serves an underserved book-reading population, the LGBT, or lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender customer base. He pointed out that Borders selection of books for this community had been greatly reduced over the last few years.
In addition, he also diversified, selling items beyond books and finds on some days, “all I sell are greetings cards.”
As for eReaders, he said, “You have to grin and bear it and pray people will still want a hard copy in their hands,” he noted. “A lot of folks don’t want to take electronics onto the beach.”
Small bookshops are also beginning to get on the digital bandwagon, said Sarah Weinman, news editor for Publishers Marketplace. Right now, she added, several hundred stores are testing out selling eBooks, but there are strict guidelines and the retailers need to have ecommerce websites in order to do so.
Weinman said small booksellers need to take advantage of social media and start thinking about new ways to do things, but she stressed: “Not everything is going to go digital.”
Another area of opportunity will be used books, she added, because even with the digitization of books a number of them will remain out of print.
Rebecca Dowling’s Hockessin Book Shelf is proof of that. Dowling who sells about 80 percent used books and 20 percent new, said, “e-Readers haven’t dramatically impacted us.”
Trends will come and go, Dowling maintained, but a well-run business that has its finances in order and a solid connection to the community will always do fine.
To that end, she does a lot of community outreach, including coordinating a book group and holding monthly reading and eating events called “Eat, Drink, Read.”
As for the Borders closing, Dowling is hoping to see an increase in business but she won’t be dancing on the retailer’s grave.
“I’m never happy to see a bookstore go under,” she lamented.