After years of dividing ownership of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops in Milwaukee, Wisc., David Schwartz has purchased the shares of his three major partners and two minor ones, including the 25% stake held in a trust in the name of American Booksellers Association CEO Avin Domnitz.
Schwartz, who ran the business, said he was happy to finally own the store with which he has been engaged full-time. "There are not many people who've gone to the bank and borrowed a lot of money to put into an independent bookstore," Schwartz said. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Domnitz's stock in the store went into a trust when he ascended to his current position. Asked his feelings about divesting himself of even a tangential role in an independent bookstore, Domnitz said: "It's a sadness," adding, "but he [Schwartz] is running the business, and he should have it."
Schwartz raised eyebrows over the summer when he hired BookSite.com, Dick Harte's effort to put independent booksellers online, to build his Web site rather than wait for the launch of Booksense.com. Domnitz told PW that he fully understood that move. "I don't blame any bookseller that feels it needs a Web presence now and will then reevaluate when we have something," he said, referring to Schwartz's comment that he might switch to Booksense.com when the project launches.
Schwartz's father, Harry, founded the store. There are currently four locations in the greater Milwaukee area.
