The book business is just a different kind of politics,” says American Booksellers Association COO Oren Teicher. When he succeeds Avin Domnitz as CEO on June 1, the assistant to former New York congressman Richard Ottinger, who ran unsuccessfully to fill his seat in 1984 and again in '86, will face many of the same problems confronting officials at all levels of government—from strained budgets to changing business models.
As recently as 2007, ABA reported revenue of $7.5 million, which included just over $2 million from dues and BEA. This year, Teicher says, “all of our sources of revenue are down,” due in part to the decision to help members by cutting dues in half and offering free badges for BEA. At the same time, proceeds from the convention are expected to decline, and ABA's investments, another source of income, have shrunk.
Despite ABA's decline in revenue and the continued shuttering of bookstores, Teicher remains optimistic. He is convinced that like the rumors of Mark Twain's death, those surrounding the demise of independent booksellers are premature. “We and Mark Twain are going to stick around for a while,” he says. “I think that there are real opportunities for booksellers to re-establish themselves in their communities. There are good days ahead. We're doing everything we can to position ourselves for those good times. I say that knowing it's tough out there. But there are forces that work to our advantage. The product, the book, doesn't change whether you bought it off a skid at Costco or it was lovingly sold. There are enough times when people value the experience that it's going to be okay.”
Teicher's plans for navigating the shoals of a bruising economy involve a willingness to embrace change. “One of the things the board said to me is that this is an appropriate time to look at all the programs. We're receptive to fine-tuning everything,” says Teicher. That includes the ABA's year-old IndieBound, itself a revamping of BookSense. Although he hasn't wavered in his belief in the concept behind the program—that the ability of independent booksellers to survive is based on their collaboration with other local independent businesses—the nature of those partnerships could vary.
Also on the table is ABA's educational programming, which Teicher would like to grow, as well as e-commerce. “Being part of the digital world in which we live will be a high priority,” he says, “and making sure our members can compete. We're dramatically overhauling our e-commerce program and allowing our members to sell digital things.”
Another priority is e-fairness. Maryland is the latest state to introduce Internet sales tax legislation; California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota and Tennessee are also considering a tax. “It's taken longer than I thought, but we're right and we're going to prevail,” says Teicher. “There's no rational reason for government to give a competitive advantage to one group of retailers.” Many of the states that try to collect e-taxes do so via a line item on their income tax forms that ask residents to calculate what they paid for Internet purchases. “To say that it's unenforceable understates the case,” says Teicher.
Although BEA is not nearly as high on Teicher's immediate list of priorities, he is mindful that the convention has to continue to move away from the days when one member described it as “jacket art and light boxes.” He anticipates that the biggest changes will occur down the road, since much of the planning for 2009 was in place when the economic downturn hit. And he credits Reed, Lance Fensterman and Courtney Muller for working to reinvent BEA.
As for the idea that some have floated regarding ABA's Winter Institute superseding BEA, Teicher responds that “they're totally different animals. We encourage our members to attend both. There are a whole lot of things—the public relations and foreign rights aspect—that will never happen at Winter Institute, which concentrates on actionable information that can make businesses more profitable. When you're back at your store, it's sometimes hard to remember how you fit in. BEA offers an opportunity to get an annual renewal of a much larger picture.”
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