Bookstores feel bite of competition

By GINA KINSLOW
Glasgow Daily Times

GLASGOW September 02, 2008 11:48 am

— Competition from online booksellers, superstores and discount department stores, combined with the economy’s downturn, is taking its toll on independent bookstores.
Janice Lambirth, owner of Ivy Books and Gifts on Rogers Drive in Glasgow, said the competition is hard to combat.
Her biggest competitors are online booksellers, such as Amazon.com.
“That’s probably our main thing – the online shopping,” Lambirth said.
She isn’t alone.
Jane Sutton, who owns “The Book” store, a Christian resource center on Shane Drive in Glasgow and another faith-based bookstore in Campbellsville, says her business has also been affected.
“All of the dot.coms ... so many of them are offering really low-priced books,” she said. “That’s competition for us.”
Lambirth and Sutton are doing their best to stay afloat.
Lambirth is trying to beat the competition by offering personal service.
“We do deliver books. If somebody wants something and they are not able to come in and pick it up, we will deliver it to them,” she said. “We gift wrap and try to add a personal touch.”
She also discounts books that appear on best-seller lists by 20 percent.
The discounts Lambirth has on her bestsellers are not as big as what major booksellers offer, but she says she discounts her books as much as she can.
Sutton also offers books at a discounted price.
“We have hundreds of books that are less than $5,” she said.
Such books are not new releases, but rather have been out for about six months and are still fairly new in the market, she said.
Many of the book publishers also offer discounts that Sutton is able to pass on to her customers.
Lambirth and Sutton both special order books for customers.
The types of things Lambirth will special order, she said, are “Things you just can’t walk in and pick up.”
She also works with local schools.
“They will order multiple copies of one book for the classroom,” she said.
Sutton works with area churches to order books by the case.
Lambirth has had book signings as a means of attracting more customers, but says they haven’t worked well.
“Almost nobody shows up,” she said, and that makes her feel badly for the authors, especially if they’ve driven a long way for the events.
Sutton recently moved her business from Festival Plaza to its present location on Shane Drive.
“We have downsized our store square-footage wise, but we still have the same products,” she said.
Lambirth says location plays a huge role in a store’s success.
At one time, people would stop by her store on their way to Wal-Mart when it was in Barren River Plaza. Since Wal-Mart moved, Lambirth said fewer people come into her store.
“We do have customers who still come on a regular basis that have been loyal to us and we are thankful for that,” she said.
Lambirth and Sutton both say they will do their best to hang on despite the competition.
Sutton believes there is a future for the independent bookstore.
“I think those who have survived to this point will probably continue to survive because they have been able to weather the storm,” she said. “One of the big problems with all retail is that they get over financed, and then they have to pay all these finance charges for everything. Those who have been able to get past that will probably be able to survive.”

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