For Rhode Island resident and Random House district sales manager Michael Kindness, the advertising campaign for local microbrewery Newport Storm encapsulates just how tiny the nation's smallest state is—“one airport, one area code, one beer.” It would take 547.3 Rhode Islands to fill Alaska.
Only 48 miles north to south, 37 miles east to west, Rhode Island has the second highest population density after New Jersey, 1,003 people per square mile. With 400 miles of coast line, but a land area of only 1,045 square miles, the state supports eight chain and eight independent bookstores. One reason that stores can thrive in close proximity in a state that takes only an hour to cross is that people don't like to drive more than 15 minutes, said Deanna Borges, founder of All Booked Up, a used bookstore in West Greenwich: “When I worked for Borders, people in Providence wouldn't come to Cranston, the next city over.” Added Judy Crosby, owner of Island Books in Middletown on Aquidneck Island: “The joke is, 'If you're going to cross a bridge, you better pack a lunch.' ”
Despite an unwillingness to travel, Rhode Islanders' ideas have had a global impact on retail. In 1790, the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. began with the building of a water-powered cotton mill in Pawtucket. A century and a half later, the Ann & Hope chain (1953—2001) revolutionized mass merchandising with the introduction of shopping carts, self-service, central checkout and free parking. Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton visited Ann & Hope, as did Harry Cunningham of S.S. Kresge when he was readying the first Kmart store.
But most Ocean State booksellers prefer a smaller, more personal approach. Tony Allen, owner of 4,100-sq.-ft. Barrington Books, in the suburban town of Barrington, opened his store as a Little Professor franchise in 1986. During the past 21 years he has expanded it twice, although he has no current plans to add more space given today's relatively flat sales. “Our children's section might be a little outsized,” said Allen, describing the store's strengths. Special orders are also strong as are New York Times bestsellers, which he discounts. He even discounts new books by big-name authors that he expects to hit the list.
Robert Utter, owner of four-year-old Other Tiger in Westerly, came to bookselling after owning a daily newspaper. “I was very aware of how hard it is to get a new subscriber and learned years ago a customer is not someone who walks in the door; a customer is someone you develop a relationship with,” he said. His bookselling philosophy—“If you can think of a way to serve a customer, you can do it”—translates into delivering books to shut-ins and saying “yes” to requests, including staffing a convention in Orlando. People stop by his store in a 200-year-old house with a warren of rooms for a cup of coffee or wine. Utter believes that customer service should be fun and involve food.
The newly reopened Books on the Square in Providence also emphasizes customer service. Owners Merc and Rod Clifton, who rescued the 15-year-old general bookstore from state receivership in June, got a big vote of support this summer when customers came to their HP7 party and bought 500 books.
In addition to general stores, Little Rhody has a number of niche bookshops, including one of only a handful to specialize in nautical books and charts, Armchair Sailor Bookstore in Newport. When Vivien Godfrey and John Mann, who also own Blue Water Books in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., bought Armchair Sailor in 2001, it accounted for 40% of their business. Now it is less, said Godfrey, in part because she and Mann do most of their mail orders from Florida, where they have a customer base that is less price-sensitive.
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