Borders’ latest monthly operating report is testimony to the value of gift cards for any bookseller. In its final month of liquidation the company was able to book the value of all unredeemed gift cards–worth $156.2 million. Thanks to that gift of accounting, they recorded an operating profit for the first time…in a long time. Net income for the month was $66.1 million.
Bookstores
Bookselling: Crown Books Name Lives On; More Former Borders Locations Get New Stores
Once-mighty bookselling chain Crown Books went bankrupt in the mid-1990s, but the name has lived on ever since thanks to San Diego-based A&S Booksellers, which has operated more than 300 temporary locations over the years. At the moment there are eight “pop-up” locations operating in the San Diego area, including three in locations once operated by Borders. “We are the neighborhood people, and we’re not going away,” A&S owner Andy Weiss told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s a great, independent business, but you have to know your market and what people want in a localized area.” Union-Tribune Speaking of former […]
Bookselling: Indies and BAMM Continue to Populate More Former Borders Locations
The number of former Borders locations that will re-open as new stores continues to grow. In Kingston, MA, The Book Shack will open its doors in the town’s Independence Mall as early as October 22, with owner Eric Christensen telling WickedLocal that Christensen said customers will be welcome to “connect, learn and explore,” the slogan of the new bookstore. Meanwhile Books-A-Million continues to expand, taking over a former Borders spot in Monaca, PA in mid-November, with a second store in Butler to open at a time to be determined. Pittsburgh Business Journal The Corner Stone Bookshop in Plattsburgh, NY will […]
Powerhouse Arena Cleans Up From Electrical Fire
An electrical fire and resulting electrical and water damaged forced Brooklyn event space and bookstore Powerhouse Arena to close earlier this week. Events director and operations manager Craig Mathis told us most of the damage affected office space, while the store itself and the upper gallery “were not damaged in any significant way,” and it has reopened to the public. Mathis added cleanup should be complete over the weekend and “we should be up and running as normal by Monday.”
DeLillo’s Stories Top November Indie Next List
Here are the ABA’s latest monthly picks: The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories, by Don DeLillo The Lady of the Rivers: A Novel (The Cousins’ War), by Philippa Gregory Zone One: A Novel, by Colson Whitehead Aloha From Hell: A Sandman Slim Novel, by Richard Kadrey The Marriage Plot: A Novel, by Jeffrey Eugenides The Boy in the Suitcase, by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout, by Jill Abramson Triangles: A Novel, by Ellen Hopkins And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life, by Charles J. Shields White Truffles in Winter: A Novel, by […]
ABA Reports on New Bookselling Experiments
ABA ceo Oren Teicher uses one of his periodic letters to members to underscore the work the organization is doing in conjunction with publishers to test new business models: “It’s imperative that both booksellers and publishers demonstrate a clear commitment to taking out a clean sheet of paper and asking ourselves: If we were to design business models that would give our industry the best possible opportunities for success today, what would they look like?” The organization has been “asking publishers to individually identify and test their own innovative ideas that might eventually benefit all stakeholders in our industry.” While […]