08-09-2013, 08:02 AM | #1 | ||
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Indie bookstores resurgent
No, they never went away, but independent bookstores are in growth mode. As half the book industry has moved to online purchases and ebooks, a good portion of the other half is now shopping indie. CNBC reports:
Quote:
Quote:
A trend worth watching. (image by secretlondon123 via Flickr) Last edited by Alexander Turcic; 08-09-2013 at 08:44 AM. Reason: moved to frontpage |
||
08-09-2013, 12:57 PM | #2 |
Is that a sandwich?
Posts: 8,189
Karma: 100500000
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Nook Glowlight Plus
|
I wonder where the other 41% of customers shop for their books?
|
Advert | |
|
08-09-2013, 01:02 PM | #3 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,068
Karma: 23867385
Join Date: Nov 2011
Device: kindle, fire
|
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
Bezos slayed the mega stores that preyed on the indies. With the mega stores gone, little stores can satisfy the 'buy now' and 'touch' needs of consumers. At the same time, these small stores have brought in products and services to attract consumers. |
08-09-2013, 01:02 PM | #4 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
pbook B&M retail customers?
Well, 20% get theirs at B&N. The rest get them at department stores, wholesale clubs, drugstores, supermarkets, and newstands. What we're seeing is a return to B&M retail diversity. "Other", as a category, once again matters. |
08-09-2013, 01:13 PM | #5 | ||
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Quote:
Indie bookstores are not only free to address local customer needs with more precision than the big chains, they've learned to leverage that ability to add value to their customers' experience. This is an important part of their ability to survive in this new era. Submitted for consideration: http://www.thebookseller.com/blogs/tough-deal.html Quote:
Last edited by fjtorres; 08-09-2013 at 01:16 PM. |
||
Advert | |
|
08-09-2013, 02:23 PM | #6 |
Uebermensch
Posts: 2,583
Karma: 1094606
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Italy
Device: Kindle
|
I could literally spend hours in indie book stores and not get tired of it. The disappearance of major brick and motar book sellers is a shame. The disappearance of indie book stores would be a disaster.
|
08-09-2013, 05:47 PM | #7 |
Is that a sandwich?
Posts: 8,189
Karma: 100500000
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Nook Glowlight Plus
|
|
08-09-2013, 06:21 PM | #8 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Maybe.
Or maybe if the publishers actively *marketted* the midlist, they might be willing to go a bit deeper into the Ingram and B&T catalogs than they do today. The backlist is headed for online, no two ways about that, but nothing stops the general merchandisers from stocking a broader range of new releases, even if us for a few weeks instead of the three month runs they get in bookstores. They just need to be "persuaded" the same way they are "persuaded" to carry the annointed bestsellers-to-be. |
08-09-2013, 07:50 PM | #9 |
Is that a sandwich?
Posts: 8,189
Karma: 100500000
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Nook Glowlight Plus
|
And give up valuable shelf space? For mid-list? The publishers/distributors would have to give the books away. As it is my local stores are dropping organic items and replacing them with more unhealthy packaged foods.
|
08-09-2013, 08:21 PM | #10 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Quote:
When was the last time you saw a price war on midlist? Midlist sells at near list. They could work as margin boosters. Or not. With the declining volumes of pbook sales the days of bestsellers as traffic generators are numbered, anyway. Most of the shelf space decline will come from there. |
|
08-10-2013, 01:58 AM | #11 |
Is that a sandwich?
Posts: 8,189
Karma: 100500000
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Nook Glowlight Plus
|
What I meant was retail stores will only stock what sells and at the moment the NYT Bestsellers current and recent #1s are what sells. It's what the math tells us. When only 8 feet are allotted to books, midlist is squeezed out unless they are remaindered where they will be dumped in the "dollar bins" as my supermarket does.
And remember unsold stock is stripped of its cover and returned. Stores and distributors don't want to go to all that trouble issuing refunds. Also, books and magazines in my county have to be recycled. |
08-10-2013, 08:03 AM | #12 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Quote:
There is no law of nature that says it has to be that way forever. Conditions *are* changing. Returns used to be 50% and more of a print run. They're down to maybe a quarter. Indies are adjusting to the newly emerging world. Even B&N will probaby see the handwriting on the wall and adjust before they implode. General retailers will do likewise. The months and years ahead will tell us *how* they will adjust but none of the big general retailers got to where the are by doing today what they did yesterday. Tomorrow will *not* be yesterday with a new calendar. (Which is good because that would be sooooo boring.) |
|
08-12-2013, 07:20 AM | #13 |
Fanatic
Posts: 509
Karma: 1098204
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Earth
Device: iPhone5, iPad Gen3, Kobo, Kindle Fire, Kobo Vox. Samsung Galaxy Tab 7
|
I buy from Costco very often as they tend to have a good collection of Cookbooks and other books that contain a healthy amount of pictures, kids books and a good collection of magazines in discount. I have also brought discounted Cookbooks from Kroger (southern supermarket). I don't remember ever seeing books in a department store but there may be some in the kids department. I do go into Books-a-Million at the Sugarloaf Mall in Georgia which has taken over due to the close of our Duluth B&N in my weekend book travels. Let us not forget Flea Markets, Used Book and Garage sales for buying books.
|
08-12-2013, 08:06 AM | #14 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Quote:
Their biggest challenge is Half-price Books muscling in, not Amazon and not ebooks. |
|
08-12-2013, 10:20 AM | #15 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
From the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/bu...end.html?_r=1& Of course, not all indie bookstores have figured out how to survive. Quote:
Reminds me of the membership bookstore proposal of last year. Last edited by fjtorres; 08-12-2013 at 10:23 AM. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Indie bookstores sue Amazon, Big 6, over e-book DRM | charmian | News | 54 | 02-25-2013 08:29 AM |
Momentum Building Among Indie Bookstores Around Kobo-ABA Deal | scrapking | Kobo Reader | 3 | 10-06-2012 02:58 PM |
Kobo signs deal to sell through U.S. indie bookstores | camtosh | News | 1 | 09-04-2012 03:19 PM |
Kobo to take over from Google with ABA indie bookstores | lecoeur | Kobo Reader | 2 | 09-02-2012 11:39 PM |
Indie bookstores wrestle with e-book business | EricDP | News | 4 | 12-22-2010 04:25 AM |