From his burial site atop Lookout Mountain above Denver, Buffalo Bill, should he hop back in the saddle, would look down upon a blanket of nontraditional book outlets. He would be pleased, for the trick-shooting showman was one of the first businessmen to recognize the value of books to a franchise—his autobiography, The Life of Hon. William F. Cody(1879) supplemented ticket sales at his Wild West shows. All those alternative outlets, keen to appeal to tourists, would look like money in the bank to Bill Cody.
According to the Census Bureau, the number of warehouse clubs and superstores in Colorado has grown significantly—up 161% from 23 in 1997 to 60 in 2002. Wal-Mart alone went from 53 stores in 2001 to 74 in 2006. At the same time, the number of independent booksellers has remained steady, with openings and closings equaling out, while chain stores saw only modest increases. B&N added three superstores between 2002 and 2006, for a total of 16; over the same period it closed two of its three B. Daltons. At Borders, the number of smaller-format Waldenbooks stores also decreased, from 12 to 10, and superstores bumped up from nine to 13.
On the surface it would seem that Colorado book retailers should be thriving. The state's population was #8 on the U.S. Census Bureau's list of the top 10 fastest-growing states in 2006. But only this past year did many businesses start roaring back after the nationwide slowdown in the aftermath of 9/11.
"When the general economy went down and the technology bubble burst, the whole local economy took a dip," said Arsen Kashkashian, head buyer and inventory control manager at 34-year-old Boulder Bookstore in Boulder. Rather than expand or move its 20,000-sq.-ft. store into one of the town-center shopping malls springing up throughout the state, he said, "Our answer was to make our bookstore better. We spend 100% of our time wondering, what bookstore does Boulder need?"
Colorado's largest independent and one of the largest in the country, Tattered Cover, with three locations in Denver, took the opposite approach and opened a store in Denver's town-center mall in Highlands Ranch in November 2004. It also moved its flagship store last summer to an up-and-coming part of the city with better parking. "We're never going to reclaim the business we lost," said Neil Strandberg, manager of operations. "We need to fashion a business that works within our neighborhood and a few blocks beyond. One of the strategies behind the Highlands Ranch store is that it's seven miles from any competition in a place that has people."
Going where the people are, but avoiding competition, is not easy. More than half the state's 4.7 million people live in MetroDenver, which occupies less than 5% of the state. Within MetroDenver, which includes both Boulder and Denver, there are 80 trade book retailers—30 independents, 20 Wal-Marts, 6 Costcos, 12 Barnes & Nobles, three Waldenbooks, one Borders Outlet and eight Borders.
High real estate costs are a problem "Aspen's difficult for anyone other than the Pradas or Ralph Laurens. I'm here where most of the local stiffs are," says Fred Durham, who chose what had once been the quiet bedroom community of Basalt, 18 miles from Aspen, when he opened Town Center Booksellers in 2004. The store is close enough to tourist areas to enable him to partner with both the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Writer's Foundation on events.
The 750-sq.-ft. Bookworm of Edwards, which is 12 miles from Vail Village and six from Beaver Creek, has serviced that area for the past decade. There's little room for browsing, acknowledged co-owner Nicole Magistro: "Most of our customers know what they want. We have two chairs that double as a stepladder."
Colorado's specialty retailers have also learned to maneuver well. Chuck Rozanski, founder of Mile High Comics, which prides itself on being "America's biggest comics dealer." To boost sales at its four Mile Highs in the Denver area, Rozanski decentralized store buying and gave managers budgets based on sales. Although he compares it to riding a bicycle blindfolded, so far it's working.
Unfortunately for all retailers in the Centennial State, Christmas was hampered by heavy snow. The weather in January was equally gloomy, with more blizzards dumping on livestock and livelihoods. On the plus side: the skiing's great.
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