The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) is launching a three-year pilot program called BincTank to support people from historically underrepresented communities who want to open a bookstore. The organization writes in a release that the program will focus on “capital, education, mentorship, peer-to-peer networking and resource material.” Ken White will lead the initiative as program manager; White has previously served on Binc’s board as well as the board of the ABA. Applications will open in early 2024, with the program initially seeking “entrepreneurs in communities impacted by systemic racism.” Binc plans to open the program up to all marginalized individuals […]
Bookstores
More B&Ns Relocate to Smaller Spaces
There has been a wave of Barnes & Noble store opening news, as the company continues to shift its footprint to generally smaller locations. On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, their much anticipated new 7,000 square-foot store at 1550 3rd Ave on the corner of 87th St. will open on July 19, one block away from the 55,000 sq-ft East 86th St. location that closed three years ago. A new store is coming soon to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA, near a 30,000 sq-ft space that closed in 2018 after 22 years. The new location once […]
New Interim CEO at Tattered Cover
Brad Dempsey took over as interim ceo of Colorado bookstore chain Tattered Cover on Wednesday, after spending the last two months working for the company as an outside advisor, though he says his appointment is “short-term.” Dempsey is an attorney who focuses on “corporate restructuring and bankruptcy, commercial and financial litigation, collection, loan enforcement and foreclosure.” He acknowledges the group faces “pretty substantial financial obstacles.” The Denver Post notes, “Right now, his primary goal is to grow sales and build the store’s inventory – ‘to sell more of what sells.'” Denverite suggests that the Tattered Cover’s Colfax branch has a […]
ABA Suggests Bookstores Prepare for UPS Strike
As UPS and the Teamsters union stall over contract negotiations, it’s possible that workers will begin to strike on July 31, which would affect a vast number of book shipments to and from publishers. The American Booksellers Association suggested ways bookstores can prepare: This month, stores should order up on inventory, order stock for Fall author events, coordinate returns (even if they don’t use UPS), and ask publishers for an increase in their credit limits.
Third B&N Store Unionizes
Following the successful unionization of stores in Hadley, MA and Union Square, NYC, the Barnes & Noble in Park Slope Brooklyn voted 88 percent in favor of unionizing, after announcing their intent in May. Like the chain’s other locations, the store joins the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The union now will go into contract negotiation with management, planning to address “continued safety issues amid the rebound of New York City post-pandemic including workplace harassment, substandard pay for the industry below that of independent booksellers, unstable scheduling practices, a lack of structure when it comes to job duties and tasks […]
B&N Union Square Forms Chain’s Second Union
Booksellers and baristas at the Union Square, NYC Barnes & Noble voted to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, with 97 percent of the workers in favor. The union will represent more than 100 non-supervisory employees and contract negotiations will happen this year. “I am so proud of my coworkers and excited to move forward as a unionized bookstore and a member of RWDSU,” senior bookseller Jessica Sepple said. “We still have work ahead of ourselves, but today we have shown how dedicated we are to improving our store for ourselves and each other. We are ready to […]