Village Books in Bellingham, Wash., is the latest retailer to experiment with a pop-up store. Next month the 31-year-old bookstore will open a 3,000 sq. ft. holiday store at the Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham. “We know that a lot of our customers shop at the mall during the holiday season,” says bookstore co-owner Dee Robinson. “We thought it was time we offered them some added convenience.” The mall had a Waldenbooks that closed in January 2010 when Borders shuttered 200 stores.
The new Village Books Holiday Store will be open until the end of January and will stock a combination of books and nonbook products, including calendars and holiday decorations, from Village Books and the Robinsons’s card and gift store, Paper Dreams. Co-owner Chuck Robinson estimates that 60% of the inventory will be books. And like the main store, which holds more than 200 author events a year, the holiday store is planning signings and other events. Community outreach director Paul Hanson will manage the pop-up store.
