NEW WEST BOOKS ROUNDUP

Bookstores Struggle with Lagging Sales

By David Frey, 12-24-08

“Longer-lasting than a fruitcake, cheaper than a flat screen, more fun than a partridge in a pear tree.”

That’s IndieBound’s pitch for buying books for the holidays, and the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver liked it so much, it became the forefront of its holiday marketing campaign.

That caught the eye of the book trade blog Shelf Awareness.

The slogan, along with a whimsical image of a pear tree, adorns large color posters in Tattered Cover’s three locations and is printed on bookmarks given to customers. Books wrapped in decorative paper that uses the colors on the posters--blue, green and brown--are displayed throughout the stores. Also featured are posters bearing another IndieBound slogan in blue: Give love. Give time. Give joy. Give books. The two slogans are being used as well in Tattered Cover’s print advertising in the Denver Post’s Sunday books section, the alternative weekly the Denver Westword and community newspapers.

“It’s probably the most cohesive in-store merchandising we’ve ever done for the holidays, as far as using one graphic and one color scheme across all three stores,” marketing director Heather Duncan said. She and her colleagues began brainstorming for a holiday marketing campaign in early October, but decided to go with the IndieBound promotion when it was announced later that month. “We saw IndieBound’s great designs, and we thought they were perfect,” Duncan explained. “I think it suits independents in general, but the vintage look really works for our store.”

The blog reports that the iconic bookstore’s sales are down from last year, as are sales for many bookstores across the country. “It’s not our first recession, but it does seem to be one of the worst we’ve been through in the 30-plus years we’ve been in business,” says Marketing Director Heather Duncan. “It’s something we can deal with, but it’s going to be tough. We’re going to have to make some cuts and changes to stay afloat--which we will. We always do.”

Seattle’s Wide World Books & Maps tells Shelf Awareness the same. “I myself am watching every penny, and I can’t imagine my customers are that much different,” says owner Simone Andrus.

Over in Kirkland, Wash., Parkplace Books threw a party with live music to attract customers.

“We consider ourselves Kirkland’s community book store,” co-owner Mary Harris told the Seattle Times. “This is a way to invite our customers to celebrate the holidays with us and thank them for their support through the year.”

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