Tuesday, May 19, 1998
ASUCLA sides with independent stores
BOOKS: Despite size, stereotypes of big chains don’t apply to
BookZone
By Emi Kojima
Daily Bruin Staff
In the faceoff between independent bookstores and chains, the
UCLA BookZone, though the size of a superstore, considers itself an
independent bookseller, and strongly supports independent
bookstores in the Los Angeles community.
"We absolutely are on the side of the independents and always
have been considered an independent store," said Jacques Freydont,
ASUCLA academic support general manager.
The BookZone qualifies as a superstore – a bookstore with over
100,000 books – with its 105,000-some collection.
In March, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) – a
national organization of about 3,500 independent bookstores – sued
the chain stores Barnes & Noble and Borders, with allegations
that they received secret and illegal financial breaks from
publishers.
Even though the BookZone compares with the size of the two large
chains involved in the lawsuit, it views the expansion of chains in
Westwood in a similar manner to other independent Westwood
stores.
"The challenge to the independent bookseller is the superstore
format and amazon.com," said Carol Anne Smart, ASUCLA store
director.
While the BookZone has a superstore format, it is owned by
ASUCLA and is not part of a chain.
Last month’s Los Angles Times Festival of Books helped establish
the BookZone as a competitive bookstore in its own right. It helped
publicize the BookZone and has doubled weekend business.
The BookZone adapted its current superstore format with the Feb.
1997 opening of the remodeled Ackerman Union. Smart estimates that
the bookstore’s new format has helped business by about 8
percent.
The BookZone made about $3.2 million in sales last year, with an
operating profit of about $270,000.
While chains have affected local independent bookstores, the
BookZone’s growth makes some wonder whether it, too, has affected
independent booksellers in Westwood.
"It may have," said Adele Wallace, co-owner and co-founder of
Sisterhood bookstore, established in 1974. "I would really have to
check their section on gender studies."
Wallace has not been to the BookZone yet.
"Actually, I’m glad that (the BookZone) is duking it out with
Borders," she said.
Sales have been down at Sisterhood by 30 percent from 5 years
ago.
Wallace attributed some of the slow business Sisterhood has had
to the establishment of chains in Westwood, such as the Borders on
Westwood Blvd. and a Barnes & Noble at Westside Pavilion.
Sisterhood is a member of the ABA and supports the suit against
Barnes & Noble and Borders.
At first, Sisterhood was hoping that some of Borders’ business
would spill over to the store. Wallace said that it hasn’t
happened.
Borders opened in Westwood in 1994 and has a collection of
around 170,000 titles, in contrast to Sisterhood’s approximately
12,000.
The store actually began as an independently owned used
bookstore at the University of Michigan, according to Rich Carter,
community relations coordinator for the Westwood Borders.
Both Sisterhood and Borders are supported by student
business.
"We couldn’t survive without the faculty and student support
from UCLA," Wallace said. "It’s really the only thing that is
keeping us going."
Carter said that a number of students frequent Borders, but they
do not make up all of the store’s customer base.
Neither Carter nor Wallace knew how much the UCLA BookZone has
affected their business.
A concern of the book community is that large bookstores stock
books that sell well, and not always books printed by lesser-known
publishers. Independent bookstores said that they give authors
working with smaller publishers more of a chance, and carry
different titles from the chains.
Smart said that the BookZone carefully selects its books by a
committee to cater to more academic publications and smaller,
independent companies than other big bookstores.
"We look at a wider range of publishers. We stock smaller,
independent publishers and academic-oriented titles," Smart
said.
For example, the BookZone recently offered discounts on
University Press Publications to support the academic
publisher.
UCLA’s bookstore, owned by the Associated Students of UCLA, has
been a part of the student store since 1919. There always has been
a separate bookstore and a textbook store at the university.
At UC Berkeley, however, the bookstore has been bid on by
private bookstores – including Barnes & Noble. The university
will announce who will take over the bookstore in July.
Midnight Special, an independent bookseller in Santa Monica, is
involved in the national lawsuit. Its owner, Margie Ghiz, was
concerned about a rumor she heard that Barnes & Noble would
take over UCLA’s bookstore, like UCB’s privatization.
Smart denied the rumor of Barnes & Noble taking over UCLA’s
BookZone, stressing the fact that having a quality bookstore at
UCLA has been an integral part of the student union.
"No other bookstore has the convenience of one on campus," she
said.
DAVID HILL
James Lo, a first-year undeclared student (right), and Uri
Filiba, a third-year physics student, peruse the magazine racks of
the BookZone.