Off the shelves
Despite Stiff Competition From Larger Stores, Independent Seller Remains Strong
by Julie Tereshchuk, Contributing writer
Originally published in The Austin Business Journal, April 29, 2005
Ten years ago, BookPeople boldly relocated to what was then a retail desert in downtown Austin.
Fast forward to 2005, and the 28,000-square-foot independent bookstore is not only showing a steady 3 percent annual sales growth, but was also just awarded the book industry's equivalent of an Oscar.
And that's despite seven Austin area Barnes & Noble stores and two Borders Books' opening in the past decade. Neither chain had a store in Austin in 1995.
So, how did BookPeople beat the odds and fend off their corporate competitors to not only stay in business, but also snag the much-coveted Book Seller of the Year award from Publisher's Weekly?
CEO Steve Bercu, also part owner, credits BookPeople's "excellent customer service."
With 1,500 Austinites streaming daily into the Sixth Street and Lamar Boulevard store daily, he's found the magic formula.
Bercu says it is one part on-site ownership (allowing him to respond quickly to customer disputes and special requests) and one-part employees.
He hires for people skills ahead of literary knowledge saying, "The reality of selling -- and this is a bookstore, not a library -- is that people with a certain personality are comfortable 'accosting' strangers. They are personable -- and you can't train that."
For instance, in December 2004, Pete Gasper, principal at Laurie Smith Design Associates, bought a book for his nephew.
But BookPeople didn't have the accompanying toy.
"The helpful staff actually called around town until they found a Barnes & Noble that had one," Gasper says.
It's often standing-room only for customers at BookPeople's author book signings and readings, while lines snake around the largest bookstore in Texas to see celebrities such as Lance Armstrong.
Well-attended events "can make the difference between selling two copies of a book and 50 to 100 copies," says Marika Flatt, of Austin-based PR By the Book. "Independent bookstores like BookPeople are a rare breed."
And it's not only customers who appreciate the frequent in-store events. BookPeople's community outreach events played a major role in the store's successful application for Book Seller of the Year, Bercu says.
Bercu says he is "a big believer in communal effort."
An active member in two national trade associations, in 2002 Bercu joined forces with Waterloo Records & Video Inc. owner John Kunz to found the Austin Independent Business Alliance .
"There's no point in reinventing the wheel endlessly ... AIBA's programs are designed to benefit all of us," Bercu says.
The AIBA has carried out two economic impact studies -- which Bercu tirelessly champions.
Rosy Jalifi, the City of Austin's small business administrator, explains the studies' findings.
"Forty-five percent of the money spent at a local business remains within the community, as opposed to 13 percent spent at a chain business," Jalifi says.
Compared with residents of other cities, Austinites support local businesses, says Bercu, who frequently is invited to speak to business communities across the country.
"But, we need to clearly spell out the job-creation impact of their support," Bercu adds that 300 jobs would be created in Austin if each of the AIBA's members added just one employee.
"We could generate all that economic impact without buying anything extra -- just by shopping at locally owned stores," he says.
Bercu and the AIBA are working with the city to designate Independent Business Investment Zones . The first IBIZ, on Guadalupe Street, comprises 100 local businesses and was launched March 2005.
Then there's the "Keep Austin Weird" phenomenon. In 2002, Bercu and Kunz split the cost of 5,000 stickers -- adding "Support Local Businesses" to the classic slogan. To date, 145,000 have been printed. In his office, Bercu shows off a photograph of a Humvee outside Baghdad -- complete with "Keep Austin Weird" sticker.
Ridiculed by some, the Keep Austin Weird movement has evolved into a business development tool for Bercu and his fellow independents. A strong brand has emerged -- which is now sought by out-of-town developers wanting to leverage that intangible, unique flavor into their Dallas or Houston retail developments.
The "Weird" concept is being copied around the country -- from Portland, Ore., to Louisville, Ky.
Planning also is under way for the AIBA's 'Connecting and Linking Independents with Commercial Developments' tradeshow, to be held in May 2006 at St. Edward's University.
Yet Austin has the best bookstore in the country, Bercu enjoys stressing. As Boston transplant Susan Franzen, founder of LifeU Inc., says: "BookPeople represents the quirkiness and friendly atmosphere that brought me to Austin."
-Chantal Outon |
