Books Inc. to Open in Clean Well-Lighted's Location

by Bridget Kinsella -- Publishers Weekly, 6/28/2006

Books Inc., the independent bookstore chain with 10 California stores, will open its 11th store in the space being vacated by A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books in San Francisco's Opera Plaza. The new Books Inc. will be ready by mid-September.

After CWLP failed to find a buyer and the owners announced it would close the store (PW Daily, June 19), the building's landlord approached Michael and Margie Tucker, the owners of Books Inc., about opening there. "They really wanted a bookstore," Michael Tucker said. "We weren't planning on doing this, but then[the opportunity] showed up."

Books Inc. has been in expansion mode in recent years, opening in Alameda and renovating its existing locations. The indie chain runs three small neighborhood stores in San Francisco and two Compass Books stores in the airport. The move into Opera Plaza will give the retailer its first downtown presence in the city, and the 5,500-sq.-ft. store will be Books Inc.'s largest. "We're all jazzed about this," said Tucker. Veteran bookseller Calvin Crosby will be the manger of Books Inc. in Opera Plaza.

How does Books Inc intend to make it where CWLP decided it could not? Tucker said an indie with 11 stores has a different business model and can benefit more from economies of scale than a company with just one location. However, he was sympathetic to CWLP's plight. "Ten years ago I found myself facing the exact same dilemma and we had to close ten of 12 stores," Tucker explained. "Now we're back up to 11." Books Inc.'s history dates back to the Gold Rush (although under different owners); it has survived fire and death and emerged from Chapter 11 in 1997.

"Life's about change—no one knows that better than booksellers," said Ruth Liebmann, director of retail field sales marketing at Random House. "I can't wait to hear Michael and Margie's plans."

This article originally appeared in the June 28, 2006 issue of PW Daily. For more information about PW Daily, including a sample and subscription information, click here »

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