Price wars among national retailers dominate recent discussions about the book industry, but independent booksellers are telling their same story: The ones that are surviving are working harder than ever to maintain their businesses.

For Nicola Rooney, owner of Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor, that message is particularly acute this holiday season.

Nicola Rooney hopes holiday sales stay consistently higher than in 2008, which she describes as “tough.”

Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Sales in late 2008 fell drastically, and a holiday surge never materialized. That sales slump continued into the early months of this year, with year-over-year sales continuing to drop through spring.

“Then it stopped getting worse,” Rooney said. “It just stayed bad.”

That trend, as of fall, is changing. Sales are improving. Now, Rooney says, “We’re not much down over last year at all.”

October was significantly better, and “November 2008 was desperate. We have reason to expect this November will be better.”

If the weather through December holds up and doesn’t prevent shoppers from hitting the stores, “We should be slightly up on last year,” Rooney said. “That’s the trend going at the moment.”

She continued: “Each day (during the holidays) is absolutely essential to year-end results.”
Rooney is heading into this holiday season hoping for the best.

“We’re not feeling secure,” she said. “We still have to work very hard on reminding people that we’re here and a decent, respectable, full-sized bookstore.”

In fact, Nicola’s Books is among the largest independent booksellers in Michigan.
At 8,500 square feet, it’s about one-third the size of the average Borders superstore.
And Nicola’s inventory represents two-thirds as many titles as a large, national bookseller.
The reason, Rooney said, is that the store reorders up to twice per day, allowing shelf space to be maximized.

That form of inventory control also reflects how customers’ choices drive what’s sold in the store.

“We can design our own inventory based on our own customers,” Rooney said.
That personalization is what the nation’s 2,000 independent booksellers say sets them apart from the mass-market superstores.

The American Booksellers Association represents half the number of independent retailers it did 20 years ago.

And as big retailers use regional approaches to stocking shelves and engage each other in price wars, Rooney said the independents are focusing on their core strengths to survive. That includes engaging customers in conversations about books, giving quality referrals for new titles and holding author events.

“If we had to compete on price, we wouldn’t be here,” Rooney said.
The store has been in Ann Arbor since 1971 and an anchor of Westgate Mall on the city’s far west side since 1991.

It’s also always been profitable, Rooney said.

But accomplishing that over the past year has required new strategies.

So she started 2009 with a close eye on year-over-year sales trends.

And she made big cuts in her operating budget, including switching to a less-expensive local accounting firm and retaining only advertising with proven results.

Trimming her staff of 17 wasn’t part of the deal, though she scheduled them more carefully to match sales traffic.

Beyond that, Rooney sees the industry changing further, particularly through electronic delivery. But she sees a place for real books in independent bookstores for years to come, even if the market share falls from today’s estimated 15 percent of overall sales, and even if superstores continue to sell books at below cost.

“Price is not irrelevant,” Rooney said. “But people don’t shop with us because prices are low. They come because they know they can talk to us about books.

“… I’m not trying to expand my empire,” she added. “I’m trying to be the bookstore of choice for people who come here.”

Paula Gardner is Business Director of AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at (734) 623-2586 or PaulaGardner@annarbor.com.