After 28 years, Mrs. Nelson’s Toy and Book Shop in La Verne, Calif., has become one of the last casualties of the 2013 bookselling season. On the day after Christmas the store began a post-holiday sale, which transitioned into a going-out-of business sale on December 27. Prices have been reduced by 50%-90%. The iconic Southern California children’s specialty bookstore will close its doors sometime next month.
In an e-mail to customers, Judy and Byron Nelson called the closure a “necessary course of action. We recognize that the retail business is changing and now has an emphasis on ‘big box’ discount stores. Additionally, the surge in popularity of online sales and e-books is resulting in enormous changes in the book market. Mrs. Nelson’s is unable to compete.”
Although the bookstore will close, the store’s two spinoff companies, Mrs. Nelson’s Book Fair Company and Mrs. Nelson’s Library Services, both located in Pomona, will remain open. The former is managed by their daughter, Laura Nelson; the library services company by their son, Patrick Nelson.
Several years ago Judy Nelson retired from the business that she founded in 1985. In 2011, she was elected to the Glendora City Council and currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem.
