"When we first went to CIROBE," says Jeff Press, president of World Publications, "it was just a very small show. Now, everyone who's anyone in the business is there." Press is making final preparations to exhibit for the 15th straight year at the 2005 CIROBE show.

As October rolls around, only one Chicago factoid is more certain than the Cubs' losing streaks—hordes of bargain book wholesalers and buyers from all over the country and beyond will descend upon the Chicago Hilton the last week of the month. Their mission: three days of wheeling and dealing over stockpiles of publisher remainders, overstock, hurts and promotional items at the country's oldest and largest remainder book show.

In the past 15 years, attendance at CIROBE has become an annual ritual for bargain book wholesalers, from venerable veterans heading large companies (e.g., Press) to newbie entrepreneurs running medium-sized companies, such as Richard Roberts, the president of Book Country Clearing House in McKeesport, Pa. Roberts, a former software company executive, is attending his second CIROBE, after buying the 25-year-old company in 2003 from the estate of Pete Tello.

"I wasn't drawn to the bargain book business per se, but I was drawn to Book Country—and then to the bargain book market," Roberts explains, describing how Book Country's large customer base of nontraditional booksellers was a major factor in his decision to acquire and develop the company. After attending only one CIROBE, not only has Roberts decided that Book Country need not exhibit at any other trade shows in the future, but the company is expanding its presence at this year's CIROBE in a big way—exhibiting at 20 tables as opposed to last year's six.

"CIROBE is really the anchor for us. We don't sell to traditional booksellers," Roberts reports. "This show is a great place to network, especially with people who operate outside of the traditional networks, like flea market vendors, independent kiosk operators, deep discounters—the people you don't think of as selling books.

"We want to introduce ourselves to more and more customers, get our name out there, get our inventory out there," Roberts adds, noting that sales have tripled in the past two years. His staff has more than doubled, from 15 to 38 employees.

Roberts hopes to wow CIROBE attendees this year by introducing a new preference engine the company has developed for its Web site. A link will enable publishers to promote frontlist titles to Book Country customers who already have purchased that particular publisher's hurts. "It's like TIVO," Roberts explains. "Publishers can target our customers based on their preferences. We try to help publishers however we can."

Pressing On

As for Press, he's never passed up a single CIROBE, even though, since his birthday falls on October 31, he's been forced to celebrate at Kitty O'Shea's, the Hilton's popular Irish pub. Last year, despite his beloved Boston Red Sox playing in the final game of the World Series, the rabid fan still held fast until the show's final hour. "I couldn't even concentrate. Who knew they'd win their first World Series in 86 years while we were at CIROBE?" Press recalls, describing how exhibitors and attendees gathered at Kitty O'Shea's to watch the game.

Press also attends ONBOARD and Atlanta's Spring Book Show, but his belief in CIROBE's steady potential for maximum sales and exposure is as strong as Roberts'. While Press estimates that the company he founded 22 years ago in North Dighton, Mass., exhibits on average once a month at various trade shows—from supermarket shows to BEA, London and Frankfurt—he describes CIROBE as definitely his biggest show.

In fact, the 17 World Publications employees (out of 80 total) who attend CIROBE start planning for the next show before they leave Chicago. "We run [CIROBE] like a military operation," says Press. "We have a meeting before we leave. Everyone gives their ideas—what went right, what went wrong—before we start forgetting. We start implementing changes for next year as soon as we can. We're always looking for fresh ways to present our books."

Clearly, Press's strategy works. Although he declines to reveal figures, he does tell PW, "We always do more business every single year. That's each year's goal: sell more than the year before." Press contends that an efficient distribution arrangement is a primary ingredient for survival in the rough-and-tumble world of bargain book wholesaling, while Roberts emphasizes IT and software development. But both agree that developing and maintaining personal relationships with publishers and customers is essential in this business. Which, when it comes down to it, is what CIROBE is all about—for newbies as well as for show veterans.