This has been a busy year for Peggy Bieber, owner of the Little Professor Book Center in Aberdeen, S.D. In August, she celebrated the store's 13th anniversary; in January, she will be elevated from her current post as treasurer and v-p to president of the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA); and she is completing her one-year term as the president of her local Chamber of Commerce.
Bieber is bursting with enthusiasm for her work and counts her upcoming presidency of UMBA as one of her proudest bookselling achievements. "I also really worked hard to become a leader in the city and to become the chamber president. That post is usually held by people like bankers—but they felt I could do it."
Because she has always been excited about her role as a bookseller, Bieber is constantly open to creative and innovative ideas, perhaps because hers is the only general bookstore in a 100-mile radius. (Although Aberdeen's population is only 25,000, it is the third largest city in the state, behind Sioux Falls and Rapid City, with populations of 100,000 and 90,000 respectively.)
Bonding with the Community
Located in the city's only mall (the enclosed Lakewood Mall), Bieber's 2,000-sq.-ft. store stocks about 15,000 titles. She considers the store "kind of a community center." Indeed, she considers community outreach to be one of the store's strengths: "Whenever we can be out there, we are. We reach out to them; we don't wait for them to come to us. We try to do different things, things that will be exciting for our customers."
The store participates in a great number of out-of-store events. During a recent large county fair, Little Professor organized a meet-and-greet event where people could talk to 14 local authors and purchase their books. The store also has a close relationship with the local academic community and is a frequent organizer of school events featuring costumed characters. "We have a local college and local schools, and the teachers have great ideas. We had a Read-A-Thon, and there were 200 kids one night and 300 the next. When we work with the schools, they do all the work, and we provide the venue. We do events that they can see are beneficial to both of us."
Bieber also does corporate book fairs and works with the local reading council on its projects, such as recently placing baskets of books in doctors' offices for people to borrow. "We helped them purchase the books—which allowed them to get a good discount—plus our name was attached to it."
The store has a full schedule of in-store events. When Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published, the store had a midnight sale—"Nobody in Aberdeen does something like that." Local author events are popular, too. When local author Kathleen Taylor's book Knit One, Felt Too (Storey Books) was published this fall, Bieber contacted some knitters in the community and asked them to do knitting demonstrations. "It was a big hit, and we sold 24 copies of an $18.95 book, in advance of publication," she said. She is currently excited about the upcoming in-store appearance of South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle to sign his book Like No Other Time (Crown).
One of the few things the store does not do is book clubs. "Our local library does a number of book clubs very well, so we don't feel like we need to compete with them. Instead we work with them: we sell the books they choose, and we put up signs about where the events are held."
Customer Service Is Key
Of course, customer service is also a huge component of the store's success. "We have a lot of regular customers and a good staff of eight people, two of whom are full-time," Bieber told PW. "I totally listen to my staff, because they are the eyes and ears of my customers. You have to listen."
The store policy is to get the customer the book, right away. "I tell my staff, if we don't have it, tell them where else they can get it." That includes sending customers to other booksellers—of which there is only one nearby. When Bieber opened her bookstore 13 years ago, there was one other bookstore in the downtown area, but its owner was on the verge of retirement. This left Little Professor as the sole store in the city, until three years ago, when a Christian bookstore opened a mile away. Bieber even saw a customer service opportunity there.
"Many times a customer will come in on Friday needing a book for a confirmation or a baptism on Saturday or Sunday. We'll call the Christian bookstore and see if they have it, so the customer can get it right away. Hopefully, the customer will remember 'They told me where I could get this book when I needed it!' and maybe they'll come back." Bieber remembers tracking down an elusive book for a customer who wasn't able to get to the other store. Bieber personally picked up the book for the customer. "We want them to be happy, we really do."
Starting from Scratch
Before launching the store, Bieber knew nothing about the bookselling business, although she had worked in clothing retail for many years.
"When the mall opened up, I thought I'd like to open a business—but I didn't want to do clothes," Bieber said. The mall developer told her they were looking for a bookstore for the mall mix. "I didn't know anything about the book business. I thought about it, and I learned that they had a Little Professor store in one of their other malls. So my first husband, now deceased, and another couple—Jeff and Marcia Svenn—started the business. I'm still in partnership with them. I run the business, and they help me out when I need it."
Originally Bieber's store was part of the Little Professor franchise, but since 2001 it has just licensed the name. "We didn't want to change the name because we felt like we'd established the name," said Bieber. "But we didn't feel we got a lot out of the franchise: it went from 110 stores down to 30, and they weren't providing services like marketing. Plus, the nationwide recognition wasn't there anymore, and we were doing a lot of things on our own."
Progress: Bring It On
So far, no chains have threatened Bieber's reign. "Right now I think our market is too small for a chain to come in, but I would try my hardest to stay if it happened." While she admits that the Internet plus the proliferation of the chains "has really turned the industry upside down," she has chosen to work the situation to her own advantage.
"There's good and bad," Bieber mused. "True, they forced some bookstores out of business that weren't big enough to compete, but that's something that happens in all businesses, not just bookstores. I've been very lucky because it hasn't happened to me—but it could, down the road. I can't wait until there's a threat before I reach out; I have to already be a strong presence in my community."
Bieber appreciates the fire that the chains have lit under independent booksellers. "We've always been 'takers' and not 'askers.' But with the competition, we've had to look at the way we've always done business. I think [the chains] have actually made independent booksellers into better booksellers. Opportunities have opened up for us. Without the competition from the big stores, we would never have organized Book Sense—which is a great program. They have also made us demand better discounts and co-op. It's not enough to just open your doors and expect people to come in. We have to work harder to reach out and get customers to come into our store. We have to be more creative."
Despite her busy schedule and responsibilities, Bieber is always happy to help others who seek advice about bookselling, which will be a great asset to her upcoming UMBA presidency. "Being in the business, I've tried things and have some money-saving ideas that can help others with their bottom line. I get lots of ideas from other people when I go to conferences."
