Bookselling may be “turbulent,” said American Booksellers Association CEO Oren Teicher at Thursday’s ABA Town Hall meeting, “But amidst the recent corporate bankruptcies and chain-store downsizing, the indie bookstore channel has continued its recent healthy performance.”
In 2016, Teicher said, sales at independent bookstores were up 4.6% and had a compound annual sales growth of more than 6% over a five-year period. Overall the ABA has 2,321 ABA member-locations, representing 1,757 companies, representing, a “modest increase in indie storefront locations, and a small decline in member companies,” said Teicher.
In 2016, 87 new ABA member bookstores opened in 32 states and the District of Columbia, representing a 42.6% increase over the number of store openings in 2015. Fifteen established ABA member stores were purchased by new owners. Notably, Teicher said, the ABA has 141 provisional members, which represent people who are working to open new stores, which is up 31% over 2016.
But independent booksellers continue to face significant challenges, not the least of which is rent: going into the fourth quarter of 2016, retail rents have risen 4% year-over-year for nearly three years. Fighting off competition from Amazon also remains a focus, with Teicher pointing out that Amazon has surpassed Walmart in market capitalization, “Despite earning only $1 billion in profits over five years compared to Walmart's $80 billion.” It's estimated that one-fifth of America's $3.6 trillion retail market will have shifted online, and Amazon is on track to capture two-thirds of that share, according to Teicher.
Other highlights from the past year include efforts to secure better terms for backlist titles, rapid replenishment and simplified co-op from publishers, as well as the testing of BATCH, a free-to-use online system for paying publishers.
Diversity and free speech issues continue to be a priority for the organization. Outgoing ABA president Betsy Burton of The King’s English noted that “the subject of minorities has been bubbling along in our industry and has never been properly addresses, but came to a flashpoint at [the Winter Institute]. We took quick, not defensive, action,” in forming a diversity task force.
In a Q&A preceding Teicher’s comments, incoming ABA president Robert Sindelar from Third Place Books in Seattle, Wash., said, “the steps we are taking toward diversity are first steps, but more of our membership can be aware about the processes that are in place. Knowing how to nominate board members, for example, will go a long way toward getting us there.”
Rozanne Seelen, who owns the 100-year-old Drama Bookshop in New York City, stood up and mentioned that she has worked as a bookseller for 48 years and over her long career she’d seen many changes. “The independent bookstore was where you found new books, where new writers were promoted. Many many writers would not have had careers without our help. There are many things we struggle with, but so long as we hang together, we’ll be alright.”
Finally, Teicher acknowledged the death earlier this week of Carla Gray, executive director of marketing at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, saying “all of you who knew Carla would want to join me in remembering her.”
