About our neighborhood bookstore - Issue #76
Farewell Barnes & Noble #2020
The original location of the Barnes and Noble store in my town was at the Northeast corner of Waukegan and Lake Cook Roads. Across the street from the store was a brand new two story Borders Books. On the opposite southwest corner of the intersection in the Deerbrook Mall was a Crown Books.
All three locations were busy, but at the start of the new century, the Barnes and Noble moved into the new “Shops at Deerfield Square” a mile north at the intersection of Deerfield and Waukegan Roads.
A bitter family feud shuttered Crown Books in 2001. Borders followed suit a decade later, the victim of stock buybacks and a senior management that failed to understand that bookstores were not supermarkets or discount stores. Barnes and Noble teetered on the edge of disaster until a few years ago when Elliot Management and James Daunt took over and used the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to reimagine and reinvigorate the company.
In the retail world for magazines, Barnes and Noble is usually one of the top chain for many national and regional titles. That is what I see with the retail clients I service. The chains’ current stability is a bright spot in the dark place that retail magazine sales currently experience. There is nowhere else in the continental US where a magazine publisher can get placement for their title in a large format mainline rack in nearly every state.
Personally, I enjoy spending time at retail. Perhaps it’s the end result of a career that once upon a time focused exclusively on retail sales. When I used to travel more and call on magazine wholesalers, I would often spend one of my days in town driving through the community and checking out local retailers. Seeing what sold, what the mix of stores were, how the layouts were alike and yet not alike to the town I was in previously. In case you’re wondering, things in this country are not as cookie cutter as advertised.
It’s a privilege to have a bookstore in your literal front yard. We’ve lived in this town for many years and while we love our library and use it liberally, the bookstore feels like an extension of the library. At the library you can take out whatever you want, for free. The catch, of course, is that you have to give it back so someone else can enjoy it. But if you love books and magazines and reading, there are times when you want something for your own. Browsing, looking for your favorite things and then bumping into something unexpected is such a luxury and it can only happen at a bookstore or library. If you get that treasured find at a bookstore, it is now something you can own. You can be the first to read it. You can loan to it to your friends. So, unlike the library, you visit a bookstore because you want to buy.
There’s a reason hashtags like #BookTok #Bookstagram #Shelfie #ShelfieDecor and #Shelfielove are so popular on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Not surprisingly, the community seems divided about the loss of the bookstore. On Nextdoor and Facebook discussions swirl around whether or not the store can be “saved” (It can’t, the departure was already announced and the landlord plans on subdividing the space).
The problem, it seems, is that the desire for these enormous bi-level bookstores is dwindling. The chain is still opening new stores, but the formats are very different. All bricks and mortar retail around the country is looking to reinvent itself. Here in the northeastern part of our state we’ve seen other large format Barnes and Noble stores close only to reopen somewhere nearby in spaces half the size of the previous stores.
Still, the communities on Nextdoor and Facebook intimated that the store could be saved if only enough people signed a petition. That didn’t happen. Our store, store #2020, closed on 12/31.
The four main communities that filter into this shopping center have a population well above 50,000. Home ownership is north of 80%. The average family income is well above the national average so there’s no reason to think that this area should be a bookstore desert. I’ve also heard the rumors and rumblings that the chain will be looking for another location somewhere nearby but it’s only rumors. Hopefully they will relocate somewhere nearby.
Meanwhile, there are three small indie stores in neighboring towns, a Barbara’s about 20 minutes to the north in the mall where a Barnes & Noble store used to be. There’s a new smaller format Barnes store across the street from the Mall and a Half Priced Books not too far away. As they say, “Nature abhors a vacuum.”
So does capitalism.
Your Moment of Magazine Zen
Welcome back and a big hello to 2023! Hey New Year…do us all a favor and don’t behave like your older, now departed sibling. For the sarcastic folk and cynics out in the audience, congratulations on surviving 2020. Again!
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please give it a boost by clicking “Like” and then subscribe. You’ll get a brand new release in your email in-box every Tuesday (Or sometimes Wednesday if things get a little crazy around here). Sometimes I‘ll even have some “bonus” content for you.
If you’ve got a question or comment, please drop me a line. You can always reach me at joe.berger@newsstandpros.com.
Yep, I’m still on Twitter. You can find me here. For the moment.
Oddly, I got an invite to Post.News and you can find me here on this new app.
My Instagram link is here.
Every now and then I put on a suit and tie and even comb my hair. Here’s my LinkedIn profile.
So that’s all for now. I hope your first week back is nice and light. Don’t forget to come back next week when we’ll be kicking off our new “Five Questions With” series.