The irony was not lost on generations of Boston-area readers that the New England Mobile Fair was just about as far from mobile as one could possibly imagine. Located in a sprawling 32,000 sq. ft. labyrinth featuring floor-to-ceiling bookcases, the Newton, Mass., institution is one of the region's oldest independent bookstores. Now, after 60 years, the Book Fair is on the move, relocating this month to a more conventional retail space nearby, that is one-tenth the size of its current digs.
When owner Tom Lyons purchased the Book Fair in 2011, most of the store's stock was organized by publisher, in order to streamline fulfillment of school and library accounts. The rest of the inventory was packed with remainders that spilled out from nooks and cubbies into closets and hallways. Simultaneously serving retail customers and wholesale accounts, the operation required a staff of nearly 50 employees and made for a notorious browsing experience that left visitors alternatively vexed, bemused, and bewildered.
In recent years, however, revenue declined. Lyons said he paid $1.2 million in loans and outstanding publisher debts from his initial purchase, arriving at a fragile breakeven in 2014. But publisher mergers in recent years led to changing account terms that rattled the business. And, with high staffing costs and stiff competition from online retailers, Lyons was forced into a move.
He was bombarded with requests. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told Lyons he should relocate to Boston proper. Boston City Councilor Matt O’Malley called him every day. Still, Lyons struggled to find an adequate space. He wanted to reorient much of the store to cater to children, but found high rents in the greater Boston area a stumbling block.
That’s when he heard from Peter Standish, senior v-p at Northland Investment Corporation, a Newton-based real estate management firm with a $3.5 billion portfolio. Northland offered Lyons a two year lease in a 4,000 sq. ft. space less than a quarter mile from his current location. The company is currently redeveloping the surrounding site.
Lyons was persuaded by Northland's pitch: It planned to include independently-owned businesses within a larger commercial development intended to attract national chains. “One of the things I saw on their plans was a building with a bubble next to it that said ‘local retail,’” Lyons explained. “I never saw that on any of the Boston developers plans.”
Once Lyons found a new location, he had to tackle the daunting task of moving. Consolidating has proven an enormous undertaking.
Half a million books have been moved out of the store's current location and will be sold online in a profit-sharing arrangement with the Used Book Superstore, a Burlington, Mass.-based company that runs the largest used bookstores in the region. At one point, 12 shipping containers with 2,000 books apiece were going out every day. Additional stock has been returned to publishers, sold at a discount, or moved to the new location. A formal opening of the new space will be held after Labor Day.
To coordinate the effort, Lyons hired veteran bookseller Mayre Plunkett.
Plunkett said one challenge has been figuring out how to maintain the store's character and feel now that it will be in a much smaller space. The goal, she said, is to make customers who enter the new store feel "familiar even though it's also new." To keep things feeling familiar many of the store’s bookcases have found their way into the new space.
The move is perhaps hardest for the bookstore’s staff, which now looms at 24. (At the store's height it had a staff of nearly 50.) Many, who have worked long hours to clear the shelves, became choked up talking about the relocation. Asked how long he has been at the Book Fair, Sam Cornish, former Poet Laureate of Boston, paused before saying, “I can’t remember. Has it been two decades? Three?”
Lyons is less sentimental as he focuses on the future of the store. “It was fun to have people come in and get lost, but the new space will be so much easier,” he said, noting that his overhead will drop by 60%. “This should allow us to get to a minimum of breakeven. I feel really comfortable with that. Really confident.”
