THE STATE OF THE UNION AT BROADWAY BOOKS 2.0
Last April, in response to many
concerned queries from our customers, we issued The State of the Union at Broadway Books, which outlined just where we were and what we were doing to
address the many changes that had hit the publishing and bookselling worlds in
recent years. In our statement, we listed things we were doing or planning to
do in the near future to address those changes and stay afloat. We also listed
things that you could do to help us in our stay-afloat effort. After a year, we think it’s a good time to
assess and report.
We guess that adage about change
being the only constant is true, because changes continue to rock our world. We
are happy to say that we are learning to roll with the punches – in fact, some
of the changes are not punches at all, but little love pats (more about those
in a minute).
The biggest pledge we made was to
revamp our infrastructure to enable us to sell ebooks, and to make our website
available to customers for ordering ebooks and print books online. This was a
huge step for us, and we are proud to say that we have been up and running for
several months, and it’s working. Not only are we able to interact with you in
this way, other things are now possible. For instance, we are now the place for
customers to get personalized, signed copies of books by Cheryl Strayed. We are
also the place for local performer Storm Large’s fans all over the country to
get signed copies of her memoir. We love partnering with authors in this way
and hope to do more of it.
We also promised to expand our schedule
of readings and other events in the store, and we have. These events have made
us more visible to the public and are also engendering more invitations to do
out-of-store gigs for private parties and author events hosted by
non-booksellers. Although we cannot do every event offered to us, we do the
ones that we can afford to take on and appreciate these new opportunities.
Our support of local schools and
literary entities has also grown. In December, we were able to join with you to
give a huge number of books to Roosevelt High School’s library. We’ll do it
again this December. And in May, we are honored to host two readings by
students from Literary Arts’ Writers in the Schools program at Grant High
School. These continuing associations are important to us and fostering them
remains an integral part of our mission.
The short of it is that a lot has
been accomplished in the past twelve months, and here’s where you come in, and
we get to talk about the “little love pats.” Your response to these changes has
been overwhelmingly positive. You are visiting our website! We take orders
every day on our website for print books and ebooks. You are reading our blog,
liking us on Facebook, and following our Twitterfeed. We see you in the store,
bringing your own bags and your friends and paying more often with cash and
checks rather than credit cards. We know that you heard us last year, and we
have been amazed by your support and thoughtful (and constructive)
suggestions.
And here we want to say something about
the Occupy movement. This is the piece we did not expect and could not have
planned. Both nationally and locally,
the movement that hit the streets last fall has been a boon to many small
businesses like ours. For the first time in years, independent booksellers
across the country are posting sales increases. It is clear to us that
consumers have been affected by this movement, and are taking action to ensure
that local economic entities (credit unions, non-chain businesses,
brick-and-mortar stores) do not disappear. There are many who complain that the
Occupy movement has no focus, no goal, and no effect. We are here to say that
our business is experiencing the positive effect that education and public
awareness can have on a community. Our sales have consistently increased since October.
These increases are crucial to our survival.
We have not reached the end of our
story. We are still fighting increasingly predatory, deep-pocketed, nationally based
competitors who love to play on an uneven field. And as reading habits change,
we continue to restructure our business model.
But we’re still here, and we’re stronger than we were a year ago. As we
celebrate our twentieth anniversary next month, we are mindful of the many
customers, both the ones who have been with us for years and the ones who have
recently discovered us, who have made it possible. Thank you. Truly.
It’s been a wild ride these past
twenty years. We’ve gone from a computerless beginning through two inventory
control systems. From one partnership to a single proprietress to another
partnership. From a few sparsely attended events a year to several popular
events a month. From a small public presence to a feature article in a national
magazine, lots of local news coverage, and being the subject of a
Twitter-produced video that has been seen by thousands of people around the
world. From a tiny nibble to a burrito
to what feels more like the whole enchilada.
What will the next twenty years
bring? We can hardly wait to find out. Stay tuned.
