The store unveiling is proving to be something of a Rorschach test.
Here's a couple more reports:
http://www.wired.com/2015/11/amazon-...g-a-bookstore/
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/1...-new-bookstore
Like the Daunt quote from the BBC piece they are more revealing of the writer of the piece than of the store itself.
So far nobody is saying anything about the details that really matter:
- how much of the store is mass market paperback and how much hardcover and trade
- how much goes to romance, how little to litfic
- how much goes to mystery, SF, Fantasy, thrillers
- how small the poetry section
- how much do they feature Apub titles
- do they highlight translated titles or sprinkle them among the relevant genres
- do they bother to carry coffee table books, art and photography books with beautiful images lots of people look at but few buy
- do they bother to carry atlases and other references
(I saw one report bemoaning that the non-fiction section was mostly self-help and biographies. Promising, that.
)
And, of course, there is the biggest question of all, which will determine the attitude of the (surprisingly quiet so far) BPHs: are they doing front table payola?
What intrigues me about this store is that, historically, B&M stores operate under a very strong Pareto principle: over 80% of profit comes from less than 20% of the titles but in general and, bestsellers aside, the store doesn't really know *which* books will be contributors and which will be wallpaper.
But Amazon does.
(Or at least has a good idea with established authors, even midlisters.)
The premise here seems to be to strip out the slow sellers and low-rated titles and showcase the books most likely to delight readers.
The theory is solid.
The outcome is uncertain.
Lots of retail theories flounder in the face of consumer behavior.
Which is what makes this an interesting experiment.
Wish I were close enough to visit and see for myself.