Friday, October 3, 1997
Beyond Borders
BOOKS: Independent booksellers find ways to sell their products
in the shadow of trendy superstores
By Nerissa Pacio
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The velour couches are comfy enough for a lethargic afternoon
snooze. The sweetly pungent aroma of roasted mocha beans wafts in
the air. And the strumming folk duo croons in the corner, familiar
enough to make one wonder if they just might be the Indigo Girls in
disguise.
The stage is truly set for the happening social hour at the
bookstore to move into high gear. Except one thing is sadly
forgotten or casually overlooked – the primary reason the average
Joe supposedly swaggers over to this intellectual playground.
Of course, the books.
"Barnes & Noble may have comfy chairs and a coffee shop, but
what does that have to do with books?" asks Margie Ghiz, owner of
Midnight Special bookstore in Santa Monica, where her store
features the loft-style atmosphere of a place focusing solely on
the merchandise. "The chains are killing us. Bookstores were forced
to become a business because it’s how to stay alive in corporate
America. But the real drive behind the independent and small
bookstores is to provide readers with books, not to make tons of
money."
Doug Dutton, owner of Dutton’s Bookstore in Brentwood, agrees
with Ghiz’s sentiment about the growing power of the chains.
"It’s distressing to me that ‘Barnes and Borders are what comes
to mind when we think of bookstores. True, they are
well-established chains, but they are corporate bookstores with no
character and no point of view," Dutton says. "What is fun about
the independents is that we carry different titles, smaller presses
and books about all different kinds of life. We’re not just about
Oprah’s book club and Stephen King."
While the independents can spend years despairing about the
decline of business due to the encroaching power of the bigger
competitors, other store owners and managers seek positive
solutions.
"It’s unfortunate to see what’s happening to the independent
stores, but we have found other ways to compete," says Guy Adams,
manager of Book Soup on the Sunset strip, where everyone from
supermodels to rock stars have been known to shop. "We carry
literally hundreds and hundreds of newspapers and magazines in our
outdoor newsstand, and we host extensive author appearances about
every other night."
With books piled up on the floor and shelves that stretch up to
the ceiling where only ladders can reach, Adams boasts a funky
multi-level atmosphere that does not fail to overshadow their goal
– to carry tons of non-mainstream books.
Sisterhood Bookstore in Westwood, located directly across from
Borders, finds ways to compete by providing options as to what gets
published and displayed. The whole store is uniquely dedicated to
books by and about women. And along with providing the homey
ambience of handmade shelves and original artwork, it more
importantly supplies an alternative source of women’s studies books
that would occupy a tiny section in one of the chains.
While some owners are adamant about countering the effects of
the corporate book world, others don’t feel threatened by the
growing competition at all. Chas Hansen, an employee of Vagabond
Books, claims that as a "rare book store" where limited editions
and signed editions abound, the big chains don’t really affect
business.
"The owners of Vagabond are not threatened by the chains. It’s
their store, they carry the things they like, and that’s it. Our
store is simple, with glass cases and a couple of chairs. We are a
good browser’s bookstore," Hansen says.
Samantha Scully, manager of Gene de Chene used bookstore, even
sees the positive result of the larger chains’ trendy and corporate
appeal.
"These stores like ‘Barnes and Borders make books appealing to
people who may not frequent smaller bookstores. If these people can
be brought into the appeal of reading, smaller stores can benefit,"
Scully says. Her old neighborhood store is frequented by anyone
from a Brentwood housewife to members of West L.A.’s Latino
community. Scully chuckles as she describes the store as "something
out of a Woody Allan movie." "In an age of computers and
television, if reading can be made into something fashionable, then
so be it."
Despite the seemingly futile fight between the Davids and
Goliaths of the bookstore world, each independent owner reveals
that books are the reason for the business. Along with the comfy
couch, the piping cappuccinos and the lulling music, if books stay
the reason, than not all is lost.
"If the emphasis is on the fufu, the sidelines, the coffee – I
shrug my shoulders," Dutton says. "While there is nothing wrong
with presenting books in the most comfortable atmosphere, the
problem arises when appearance becomes more important than the
product."