Laguna Beach Books Finds Its Place in the Sun
by Wendy Werris -- Publishers Weekly, 6/16/2008 8:08:00 AM
Laguna Beach, the mid-point between Los Angeles and San Diego, is a small gem of a town that hugs the Pacific Ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. Nestled in the center of the shopping and dining district on Coast Highway is Laguna Beach Books, a charming and friendly independent bookstore that opened in September 2006 and is enjoying a sales increase of 18% as its second anniversary approaches.
Owner Jane Hanauer credits her talented staff and the store’s unique location in a repurposed Laguna Beach landmark for its success. The store is one of several establishments within the site of the famous Pottery Place, including an upscale restaurant, art gallery, chocolatier and clothing retailer.
This is Hanauer’s first venture into bookselling. A former teacher and avid bibliophile, her goal was to create a literary community center at Laguna Beach Books, and she has clearly achieved that, although not without some disturbances along the way. “The completion of the store was delayed by two months,” Hanauer said. “We’d already placed our book orders, and they came in on time – so we had to do our receiving in the garage of one of our employees who lives nearby. As we unpacked the books, we sorted them out by subject and then had to put them right back into different cartons!”
Once the store opened, though, the locals immediately started coming in to shop and a strong customer base has continued to grow ever since. Being across the street from two luxury hotels on the beach has helped as well. “I introduced myself to the concierges at both resorts when we opened,” explained Hanauer. “They’ve been kind enough to recommend us to their guests, and now we get a steady flow of book-loving tourists all year long.”
Hanauer’s staff includes two former Book Soup employees. Lisa Kaplan is the manager, and the buyer is Robin Caperton. Kaplan also sits on the board of the SCIBA; both women bring long-term careers in the book business to their positions at Laguna Beach Books. Their experience is evident. The shelves in the store are thoughtfully stocked with mainstream, literary and small press titles, and customers entering the store are greeted by their first names and proffered books that the staff has set aside with readers’ individual tastes in mind. Laguna Beach Books is big on hand selling. Hunting and Gathering, by Anna Gevalda, so charmed the staff that thus far they’ve sold 400 copies of the mid-list title that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
Although a bit off the beaten path in terms of publicity and marketing, the 1,900 square foot store holds several book events a year and has successfully hosted the likes of Lisa See, Elizabeth George and Lisi Harrison.
“This experience has turned out to be so much better than I ever dreamed,” Hanauer noted. “I love our customers. We’re all book lovers here, and the store provides a comfortable place where people can go and exchange ideas about books and writers. Although reading is a solitary pleasure, I’ve discovered that readers are very social people. If I can provide a space for them to meet, and maintain the right inventory for them, then I’ve done my job.”
