Good morning,
The article pasted below comes from an industry email; called "Shelf Awareness" and it hits upon some themes I have been writing about of late. Please note that Ms Ripley was a legendary leader of our industry. I believe and I hope you do as well, that there is something inherently valuable about the existence of Phoenix Books. We offer a sense of community to our customers that doesn't exist on the internet. There is nothing anonymous about sitting across from your friend over a cappuchino and catching up on life. There is nothing overwhelming or depersonalized about chatting with our booksellers about new books, old books or hard to find books. Nor do I feel like a salmon swimming upstream or a futile gesture because I believe that there are enough thoughtful and mindful folks in our community who will come and sustain Phoenix Books in return for nourishing your appetite for literature and coffee:) Read on and feel free to comment!
* * *Sad Ending for Second StorySecond Story Bookshop, Chappaqua, N.Y., is closing, according to the New York Times.
Owner Joan Ripley, who founded the store 37 years ago, told the paper, "Our customer count is so far down, and I attribute that mostly to Amazon, and then you have the double whammy of the economy. . . . Especially for younger people, it's like a game now: You look on the Internet and find where you get something for $10.29 here instead of $10.39 there. We can't compete with that, but there are things you lose in ways that are not numerically measurable when a place like this closes."
The store had come close to shutting its doors in the past, but Ripley, who is 75 and a former ABA president, managed to keep going. She had been helped in part by former President Bill Clinton, a book-buying resident of the town since 2000 who regularly has sung Second Story's praises.
The Times allowed as how indies that are doing well share two attributes:
"Many of the most successful independents, like Bookends in Ridgewood, N.J., or R. J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Conn., are increasingly in the business of book events and real-world social networking as much as walk-in sales. Despite the aura of predigital charm, they're like any other business: Change and adapt, or die.
"And most of them, whether explicitly or implicitly, have managed to get across the message that we need you, but you need us: A community that wants a vibrant downtown with a local bookstore that's about books, and about something more as well, needs to support it. So, in New Canaan, Conn., for example, Elm Street Books exists because seven local residents put up the money to keep it going, more as a civic gesture than an entrepreneurial one."
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
borders and noble and amazonian thoughts!
Buy Local folks! That is not a slogan it is a necessity. Buy from Amazon and steal sales tax revenues from the state of Vermont. That is not a real savings since you are in effect stealing from yourself. Until the politicos realize that sales tax ought to be collected on all transactions and that the Internet simply does not deserve "special tax treatment" to "protect it" then we can go ahead and continue to weaken our local communities and infrastructures by blindly believing we are "getting a deal". Think about that the next time you hit a pot hole!
Then recently our wonderful friends at Barnes&Noble got caught with some 50 illegal immigrants working in one of their distribution centers, which, since they use them, allows them to get a book for 5% less than Phoenix. Gee, you don't' suppose there is a relationship between low wages and artificially low prices do you?
And just today the wobbly folks at Borders announced layoffs of 250 employees. That must be on top of the 136 HQ layoffs in February and...the 742 layoffs announced on March 5th.Another blow for customer service at this fiscally troubled chain!
Hey, if you were worried about Gift Certificate redemption before, I'd hurry on down to Borders and cash mine in LOL
And yet, Phoenix Books has not let any one go, nor have we cut any hours and our customers have responded by keeping our sales at or above last years figures for January and February. Hooray!
Michael DeSanto
Then recently our wonderful friends at Barnes&Noble got caught with some 50 illegal immigrants working in one of their distribution centers, which, since they use them, allows them to get a book for 5% less than Phoenix. Gee, you don't' suppose there is a relationship between low wages and artificially low prices do you?
And just today the wobbly folks at Borders announced layoffs of 250 employees. That must be on top of the 136 HQ layoffs in February and...the 742 layoffs announced on March 5th.Another blow for customer service at this fiscally troubled chain!
Hey, if you were worried about Gift Certificate redemption before, I'd hurry on down to Borders and cash mine in LOL
And yet, Phoenix Books has not let any one go, nor have we cut any hours and our customers have responded by keeping our sales at or above last years figures for January and February. Hooray!
Michael DeSanto
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Discounts
Dear Reader,
Upon perusing this entry you will soon discern that something untoward occured today as it relates to customer interactions and discounts:) I offer this up as my take on the world of educator discounts and the like. I invite you to respond to this. I would add that I too have been a HS teacher, and a HS Coach so I have some familiarity with the intense pressures faced by the education establishment to deliver the highest quality service with a shrinking revenue source.
So, here we are in the brave new world of a recession worse than any financial crisis I have lived through since 1949. The pressure on small businesses to survive is acute to say the least. And the requests for gifts, auction items, donations and discounts has exploded. Virtually everyday I hear "Please give more and better to ____________(pick your worthwhile charity or educational institution)." And those groups that have been receiving support continue to believe that the amount or type of support should continue unabated despite the dramatic change in the business environment. My first question would be: How does my business survive with reduced sales and continue to do everything the the store has been doing without fiscal adjustments? If I cut back employees I add to the unemployment ranks. If I cut back hours then I push my workers into an even worse financial crisis. If I cut back advertising the sales rep loses their job and perhaps my sales fall off even more than before. If I raise prices then I put more pressure on the already strained pockets of my loyal customers. What would you do? So far, only the advertising has been affected...prices are unchanged and my staff is still intact!
One thing I would do is take a hard look at educator/institution discounts. Let's take a hypothetical school doing a book fair. There is one thing , dear reader, you must remember. If I offer a 20% discount off of the list price I have offered a 50% cut in my gross profits...half of the gross profit. If I sold all my merchandise with that level of price cut I would be closed in a month! So, when a school calls in and asks for that discount I think I am doing my community a good deed. I think I am putting back into the community. I think I am helping. Guess what? The school thinks the same thing! They think they are helping my business by asking me to sell books at a 20% discount. They think they are doing a good deed. They think they are helping!
So, when I recently suggested to a school that I would provide books for an author reading without a discount but rounded down so as to not charge the individual students for sales tax, in effect a 6% discount, I was met with a very negative reaction. This school called me at the last hour, on a Tuesday night. I had the books here by the next Monday for them to pick up Tuesday, in time for the event on Wednesday and Thursday. At the last minute I received a phone call cancelling the order because I failed to display enough enthusiasm for filling the order, had not provided a price list of the books in time for a mailing to the students(not made clear to me at the time:) and was not offering the books tax free and with a 20% discount...which becomes a 26% discount because the books are sold to individual students(By the way sales tax must be paid when sold individually) I was told other stores would have done this and I was only being contacted out of a sense of community loyalty. So, you guess, dear reader, which of these transgressions was the deal breaker? Oh well, I missed that one.
The school was right. I was not enthusiastic about the order. The wholesaler did not have adequate numbers of the books, any books from them would , in effect, be nonreturnable and the discount is significantly lower than a publisher. I foolishly allowed one publisher to tack on a 2 day freight charge in order to get the books here in time($27.00LOL) Supporting this event was a money loser. If one thinks I can survive offering these discounts then one also must think I am egregiously over charging my regular sales?
In my opinion there is a gigantic disconnect between what my store does to stay in business and what the recipients of the discounted sales think they are doing for meLOL. Part of me wants to say....please hurt me...get the books from B&N...get them from anyone besides me. Without throwing too many stones at glass houses I fear their is a sense of entitlement and privilege at play. If you don't play my game I'll get you and your little dog too:) Even though the world as I know it is in the middle of an earthquake I am supposed to do business as usual. And keeping your special interest happy is paramount...no matter the adverse affect on my business or the people I employ. I fear I cannot do business as usual. We all must make changes in how we do our work, even educators. In the long run I know I do more for the community by keeping my doors open, paying sales tax, employing 8 people and providing an intellectually honest alternative to box stores. And remember, please, that my employees are still here and my doors are still opened.
I'd be delighted to know what to do about this.
Upon perusing this entry you will soon discern that something untoward occured today as it relates to customer interactions and discounts:) I offer this up as my take on the world of educator discounts and the like. I invite you to respond to this. I would add that I too have been a HS teacher, and a HS Coach so I have some familiarity with the intense pressures faced by the education establishment to deliver the highest quality service with a shrinking revenue source.
So, here we are in the brave new world of a recession worse than any financial crisis I have lived through since 1949. The pressure on small businesses to survive is acute to say the least. And the requests for gifts, auction items, donations and discounts has exploded. Virtually everyday I hear "Please give more and better to ____________(pick your worthwhile charity or educational institution)." And those groups that have been receiving support continue to believe that the amount or type of support should continue unabated despite the dramatic change in the business environment. My first question would be: How does my business survive with reduced sales and continue to do everything the the store has been doing without fiscal adjustments? If I cut back employees I add to the unemployment ranks. If I cut back hours then I push my workers into an even worse financial crisis. If I cut back advertising the sales rep loses their job and perhaps my sales fall off even more than before. If I raise prices then I put more pressure on the already strained pockets of my loyal customers. What would you do? So far, only the advertising has been affected...prices are unchanged and my staff is still intact!
One thing I would do is take a hard look at educator/institution discounts. Let's take a hypothetical school doing a book fair. There is one thing , dear reader, you must remember. If I offer a 20% discount off of the list price I have offered a 50% cut in my gross profits...half of the gross profit. If I sold all my merchandise with that level of price cut I would be closed in a month! So, when a school calls in and asks for that discount I think I am doing my community a good deed. I think I am putting back into the community. I think I am helping. Guess what? The school thinks the same thing! They think they are helping my business by asking me to sell books at a 20% discount. They think they are doing a good deed. They think they are helping!
So, when I recently suggested to a school that I would provide books for an author reading without a discount but rounded down so as to not charge the individual students for sales tax, in effect a 6% discount, I was met with a very negative reaction. This school called me at the last hour, on a Tuesday night. I had the books here by the next Monday for them to pick up Tuesday, in time for the event on Wednesday and Thursday. At the last minute I received a phone call cancelling the order because I failed to display enough enthusiasm for filling the order, had not provided a price list of the books in time for a mailing to the students(not made clear to me at the time:) and was not offering the books tax free and with a 20% discount...which becomes a 26% discount because the books are sold to individual students(By the way sales tax must be paid when sold individually) I was told other stores would have done this and I was only being contacted out of a sense of community loyalty. So, you guess, dear reader, which of these transgressions was the deal breaker? Oh well, I missed that one.
The school was right. I was not enthusiastic about the order. The wholesaler did not have adequate numbers of the books, any books from them would , in effect, be nonreturnable and the discount is significantly lower than a publisher. I foolishly allowed one publisher to tack on a 2 day freight charge in order to get the books here in time($27.00LOL) Supporting this event was a money loser. If one thinks I can survive offering these discounts then one also must think I am egregiously over charging my regular sales?
In my opinion there is a gigantic disconnect between what my store does to stay in business and what the recipients of the discounted sales think they are doing for meLOL. Part of me wants to say....please hurt me...get the books from B&N...get them from anyone besides me. Without throwing too many stones at glass houses I fear their is a sense of entitlement and privilege at play. If you don't play my game I'll get you and your little dog too:) Even though the world as I know it is in the middle of an earthquake I am supposed to do business as usual. And keeping your special interest happy is paramount...no matter the adverse affect on my business or the people I employ. I fear I cannot do business as usual. We all must make changes in how we do our work, even educators. In the long run I know I do more for the community by keeping my doors open, paying sales tax, employing 8 people and providing an intellectually honest alternative to box stores. And remember, please, that my employees are still here and my doors are still opened.
I'd be delighted to know what to do about this.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Irritated by fear!
Hi All: Here is a draft letter for publication in a local paper! It irritated me greatly:) Mike
I am an irritated small business owner who thinks the recent articleI How To Avoid Losses If A Retailer Goes Bankrupt in the Essex Reporter of January 8th creates fear among my customers where none is warranted. I am not going to dispute the facts of the article. I am going to dispute the notion that masses of consumers are somehow going to loose their shirts because a company goes bankrupt! I had customers approach me during the holiday season asking if the gift certificates would be good next year. I had customers ask me if they should even buy a gift certificate from me. As if I was going to sell the certificate and close my doors the next day! The customer said they had received an email warning about it. Now you chose to publish an article that implies masses of retailers are all going to go belly up any day now. Let's ignore a trillion dollars to the financial services sector. Let's not worry about entire life savings wiped out by Bernie Madoff but let's instead get my community worried that I am going to rip them off for a gift certificate. You don't suppose this somehow deflects attention from important issues and continues the mythology that big companies are safer? That this article indirectly benifits big chain stores? This kind of fear mongering is simply not news. Take a minute, take, for example a small independent bookstore or the Sacred Grounds Cafe(which had a big article and numerous letters about it) . Wouldn't the community know the company was going out of business. Anybody seen any going out of business sale signs lately? What do you suppose happens when a small retailer closes their doors. Anybody noticed any unmarked vans sneaking up at midnight to spirit away the goods and leaving masses of surprised customers banging at the doors the next day? Please! If that happens it won't likely be an independent retailer but it might be a big chain, maybe even a big chain bookstore!
I am an irritated small business owner who thinks the recent articleI How To Avoid Losses If A Retailer Goes Bankrupt in the Essex Reporter of January 8th creates fear among my customers where none is warranted. I am not going to dispute the facts of the article. I am going to dispute the notion that masses of consumers are somehow going to loose their shirts because a company goes bankrupt! I had customers approach me during the holiday season asking if the gift certificates would be good next year. I had customers ask me if they should even buy a gift certificate from me. As if I was going to sell the certificate and close my doors the next day! The customer said they had received an email warning about it. Now you chose to publish an article that implies masses of retailers are all going to go belly up any day now. Let's ignore a trillion dollars to the financial services sector. Let's not worry about entire life savings wiped out by Bernie Madoff but let's instead get my community worried that I am going to rip them off for a gift certificate. You don't suppose this somehow deflects attention from important issues and continues the mythology that big companies are safer? That this article indirectly benifits big chain stores? This kind of fear mongering is simply not news. Take a minute, take, for example a small independent bookstore or the Sacred Grounds Cafe(which had a big article and numerous letters about it) . Wouldn't the community know the company was going out of business. Anybody seen any going out of business sale signs lately? What do you suppose happens when a small retailer closes their doors. Anybody noticed any unmarked vans sneaking up at midnight to spirit away the goods and leaving masses of surprised customers banging at the doors the next day? Please! If that happens it won't likely be an independent retailer but it might be a big chain, maybe even a big chain bookstore!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Update
Here is to the New Year of 2009. We are wrapping up our holiday sales today. The business has been better than I expected! We enjoyed a record setting sales day last week and a second highest day yesterday:) All is not dark nor is it lost. Phoenix Books will reach the sales goal for December which will be an increase of 15% over last year but do keep in mind that last year was year one:) I expect 2009 to be slow and do not anticipate any sales increases. If our sales stay level each month I will be grateful.
There are some modest changes in the winds. We are going to move our floor plan around by shifting the receiving station to the back near the door. This will open up our cash wrap allowing our booksellers easier access to the sales floor. Other adjustments include: sliding the children's department forward into the store to give it more prominence; placing lettering on the banner in the back, as in "Children's Books", and adjusting the product mix to reflect the price consciousness of our customers.
I would like to state my unequivocal commitment to remaining open. Renee and I are positive we can continue to offer a terrific alternative to chain stores, ersatz discounters, and thieving (think sales tax) Internet competitors. We know we can move ahead even in these stormy times(see my comments earlier about white water management!). I see the day when chain stores are failed models and the independent store becomes the safe haven for cutting edge literature, real paper books and alternative ideas. By the way, Borders is indeed in serious trouble.
I would also like to state my profound appreciation of the efforts of my "team of booksellers" at Phoenix Books. These last 14 months have been the start up period for the store. Everyone has learned new processes, new equipment, new hardware, new software and so on. Everyone works here because they want to work in this store. I thank each one for their varied and special contributions to making Phoenix Books the unique,local, and independent bookstore it is. I especially want to thank Colleen, Kristen, Deb and Jenn for their work. Each one contributed ideas and energy and effort that far exceeded the modest pay they received. They have moved on to bigger and better things in towns across America but we miss their presence in our store!
So, here is to looking forward and as Satchel Paige, the famous pitcher, said "don't look back...you don't know what might be gaining on you".
Happy New Year:)
Michael DeSanto &
Renee Reiner
Owners of Phoenix Books & Cafe
There are some modest changes in the winds. We are going to move our floor plan around by shifting the receiving station to the back near the door. This will open up our cash wrap allowing our booksellers easier access to the sales floor. Other adjustments include: sliding the children's department forward into the store to give it more prominence; placing lettering on the banner in the back, as in "Children's Books", and adjusting the product mix to reflect the price consciousness of our customers.
I would like to state my unequivocal commitment to remaining open. Renee and I are positive we can continue to offer a terrific alternative to chain stores, ersatz discounters, and thieving (think sales tax) Internet competitors. We know we can move ahead even in these stormy times(see my comments earlier about white water management!). I see the day when chain stores are failed models and the independent store becomes the safe haven for cutting edge literature, real paper books and alternative ideas. By the way, Borders is indeed in serious trouble.
I would also like to state my profound appreciation of the efforts of my "team of booksellers" at Phoenix Books. These last 14 months have been the start up period for the store. Everyone has learned new processes, new equipment, new hardware, new software and so on. Everyone works here because they want to work in this store. I thank each one for their varied and special contributions to making Phoenix Books the unique,local, and independent bookstore it is. I especially want to thank Colleen, Kristen, Deb and Jenn for their work. Each one contributed ideas and energy and effort that far exceeded the modest pay they received. They have moved on to bigger and better things in towns across America but we miss their presence in our store!
So, here is to looking forward and as Satchel Paige, the famous pitcher, said "don't look back...you don't know what might be gaining on you".
Happy New Year:)
Michael DeSanto &
Renee Reiner
Owners of Phoenix Books & Cafe
Monday, November 3, 2008
hope and white water
I voted last week. It is a foregone conclusion that Vermont will go for Obama. I predict 62% for Obama. Mine was a vote for hope. I think I was voting for the future of our children and yes, our country( I am indeed a patriot:) Here in Vermont my preference for Pollina or Symington is well known. McCain and Douglas have a terrible thing in common. Both seem to want to govern from fear...fear of change, fear of the other. It sickens me to hear either of these men claim to know what "Vermonters" or their fellow citizens want. These two politicos long ago left the world of regular folks and have become, quite frankly, apparatchiks of the status quo at a time when boldness and innovation are desperately needed. Imagine being governor and opposing wind turbines on ridges because the tourists expect to see pristine( except for cell towers, new mc'mansions and huge gouges from new or upgraded electrical transmission lines). If we remain addicted to foreign oil there won't be any tourists.
A friend of mine suggested the world was chaotic and that would be true. Phoenix Books recognizes that chaos in our world is inevitable and that taking in the moment is the only way to cope with it. For years I have believed that management issues will always be caught up in endless whitewater. It is a myth to expect any calm water. Managers used to say..."let's get through this rough stretch and things will settle down". Wrong. Business, government and perhaps life are simply managing endless white water. Anything less may not be worth doing. So all of us here are trying to steer and row our little Phoenix Books boat through white water rapids. It's just that this white water may be off the charts, unnavigable, or perhaps exceeding Class V. But just like my vote for Obama I hold out hope that we can, all of us, navigate through these Class V rapids so that a good old ride through Class III water will feel like floating down the Lamoille in an inner tube on a sultry summer day. If anyone is reading this...namaste :)
A friend of mine suggested the world was chaotic and that would be true. Phoenix Books recognizes that chaos in our world is inevitable and that taking in the moment is the only way to cope with it. For years I have believed that management issues will always be caught up in endless whitewater. It is a myth to expect any calm water. Managers used to say..."let's get through this rough stretch and things will settle down". Wrong. Business, government and perhaps life are simply managing endless white water. Anything less may not be worth doing. So all of us here are trying to steer and row our little Phoenix Books boat through white water rapids. It's just that this white water may be off the charts, unnavigable, or perhaps exceeding Class V. But just like my vote for Obama I hold out hope that we can, all of us, navigate through these Class V rapids so that a good old ride through Class III water will feel like floating down the Lamoille in an inner tube on a sultry summer day. If anyone is reading this...namaste :)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
monday, monday, greg melville
If you see this...plan to come in to visit and see Greg Melville, a virtual stand-up comic, talk about his cross country trip in a vegetable oil fueled automobile. The things I learn about my erstwhile running companions would...fill a book LOL. He is here Monday night at 7:00 p.m. Greg lived in Vermont for quite a while but sadly has moved on to North Carolina. I still count him as a "local author" so please come out and support this event. Greasy Rider is the title, and has been reviewed in our local press, so perhaps you have seen it written up?
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