Chain Stores have an
Achilles Heel their size, and
sheer volume can be turned
against them.
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by Staff Writer Last Friday in the San Francisco Chronicle I read independent booksellers didn’t do well in the Antitrust case against Borders, Barnes & Nobles Book stores. I’m not going into details, lets say U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick saw the big chain’s view. What can small independent book sellers do? Where did the coffee shop idea come from? It was originally from modest independent bookseller’s with innovative ways of thinking. They had to compete against other shops for customers. Most if not all big chains think:bottom-line, what will get people to buy and not browse, bigger=better is their notion and if coffee shops, bar and bakery combos will get the public in they’ll spend the money raising/cutting prices on food items for added cash revenue. Big Book chains are Glitzy, posh, expensive, and slightly innovative. How can independent booksellers compete? They don’t; like successful Mom& Pop or one-owner bookstores of the past they can do-be innovative, different in ways huge chains cannot. Remember "The Purple Onion" or "Hungry Eye" in the 1950’s and 60’s with poets, comedians individual stand-up or groups and of course authors of various works. Then there is malt shops, PC, I-net spaces and independents joining for a better diversified customer base. Not following the chain crowd could be what saves independents. It seems when chains have a successful model they don’t change they tend to look the same and if an ordinary behind-the-counter has an idea dumb or brilliant she/he may not be listened to because of the Chain-of-Command top-down structure of most chains. in a small shop with four or less people one person with a dumb or brilliant idea can ask the boss too without c-o-c wait and his or her idea can be tried. Think of chain bookstores as slow moving monoliths that may communicate swiftly with other monoliths but c-o-c’s make ‘em get in their own way. Sometimes bigger is better and at other times what is wanted and needed is remember all new books get old eventually and big chains have to move their products. Small stores with combo café’s, author visits, PC-net services will always be an alternative to large chains because readers are interested in so many kinds of books that chain stores may disdain or dislike not taking the effort because of adverse publicity. >p>The "If its not here its not anywhere" attitude will no longer be applied as long as independents say. "These ideas, works, authors, theories, whatever are here for readers, not for big chains to pick and choose what our tastes are to fill their already full coffers. Please send donations to Poor Magazine For Joe only my snail mail: |