Richard Garvin and Kwame Spearman, the former ceo of Tattered Cover, are opening a new independent bookstore in Uptown Denver called Denver Book Society. In 2024, Tattered Cover filed for bankruptcy, and was sold to Barnes & Noble. Spearman tells the Denver Gazette that when he was at Tattered Cover, they attempted to expand too quickly. “The business was basically on fumes as far as the amount of cash. And I had really big, really grandiose ambitions,” he said. “If I could do it all over again, I would have focused on just getting the basics right of really regaining […]
Bookstores
UK Bookshops Face “Disastrous” Tax Increases
Changes to the UK’s budget mean that many independent bookstores will have to pay a significantly higher business rate (a property tax) starting in April, the Bookseller reports. According to new research that has been submitted to the government as part of a consultation, more than 400 independent bookshops will see their rates go up over the next three years after a transitional period, and some stores’ taxes will be doubled. Researchers found that a store would have to sell at least 1,141 more books per year, on average, to make up for the increase. According to the Bookseller, “In […]
Powell’s Has “Final Round” of Layoffs, Plans New Investments
Powell’s Books announced that it had completed what it called a “final round of layoffs,” which have cut its staff by about 20 percent over the last year. The company did not indicate how many jobs were eliminated in this round. ILWU Local 5 representative Myka Dubay told Willamette Week that within the past year Powell’s has laid off 40 union employees and approximately 20 people in management. “These decisions have been extremely difficult, and we recognize their impact on our employees,” Powell’s owner and president Emily Powell said in a release. “With this final round complete, our focus shifts […]
BAM CEO Discusses Store Growth, Consumer Demographics
In the latest issue of the Open Book podcast, Open Road ceo David Steinberger talks with Books-A-Million ceo Terry Finley about how their customers have changed over the years, the chain’s growth, and what’s selling in their stores—and what’s not. Finley said that the biggest change in books retail over the past few decades is the customer. BAM’s core demographic, he said, “was a 45-year-old woman, married with two children, college education, decent family income.” Now, it’s “much younger”—18-40 and majority female. The books that drive the retail market have changed too. While major tentpole authors like Dan Brown and […]
Barnes & Noble Plans to Open 60 Stores in 2026
Barnes & Noble plans to open another 60 new stores across the US in 2026. New locations will include stores in Ohio, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Washington state, California, Virginia, Georgia and Washington DC. They write in a release, “Barnes & Noble is enjoying a period of tremendous growth as the strategy to hand control of each bookstore to its local booksellers has proven so successful.” CEO James Daunt told the BBC they opened 67 new stores in 2025 (though, as usual, some locations were closed as well). In 2024, they opened 57 new stores, and acquired three Tattered Cover […]
New CEO Joins Powell’s
Powell’s Books in Portland has hired David Maquera as ceo, taking over from Patrick Bassett who stepped down in September after 5 years with the bookseller, the Portland Business Journal reports. Powell’s declined to comment to the outlet on the leadership transition. Oddly, according to union representative for ILWU Local 5 Myka Dubay, Maquera joined the bookseller back in September. Dubay reports “that Maquera has not attended any of the regular meetings between union representatives and the company and declined an introduction between union representatives and himself.” The company has laid off more than two dozen employees in recent months, citing […]