The third smallest state in the Union—and the third wealthiest—Connecticut has had an oversized influence when it comes to the nation's book market.
One of the country's first bookstore chains, Waldenbooks, got its start in Bridgeport. Originally founded as a rental library in 1933 by Lawrence Hoyt, Walden was the first retailer to have a bookstore in every state before being folded into Borders. Next fall, longtime competitor Barnes & Noble is poised to open the largest B&N in the state, 40,000 sq. ft., and the first in Stamford, at Stamford Town Center—the site of Walden's first Basset Books superstore. "We've been looking for a store in Stamford for a long time, but we haven't been able to find the right space until now," said B&N real estate director Don Kuszmar.
The Nutmeg State is also home to some of the country's best-known independents, including R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison; Just Books, Too in Old Greenwich; and Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot. Its 20 private colleges and universities and seven public ones, which include Connecticut College, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Yale, have also attracted scholarly bookstores like Labyrinth Books in New Haven and UConn Co-op in Storrs. A similar diversity is reflected among the state's best-known writers: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Wallace Stevens, Arthur Miller, William Styron, Madeleine L'Engle, Martha Stewart.
Unfortunately, diversity doesn't always mean vitality. Connecticut's population of 3.5 million increased only 3.6% between 1990 and 2000, when the U.S. Census Bureau conducted its last decennial count. Similarly, the number of bookstores in the state has been relatively flat, indicating stagnant growth. There were 11 B&N superstores in Connecticut in 2001 and the same number in 2006; during the past five years it closed all three of its B. Dalton stores. Borders, on the other hand, went from 5 superstores in 2001 to 8 today; its Waldenbooks count remained even at 14. Over the past five years, the number of Wal-Mart stores (including discount stores, supercenters and Sam's Clubs) grew from 23 to 35. There are currently five Costcos.
Even along the state's wealthy "Gold Coast," which includes Fairfield County, with a median household income of $71,633, the book business has been soft. Jenny Lawton, owner of Just Books, Too, characterized her business as either flat or up month-by-month. She's also noticed the beginnings of author ennui. That could be problematic for a 760-sq.-ft. store like Just Books, especially since, for many of its 58 years under founder Warren Cassell, Just Books store relied heavily on sales from author lunches and breakfasts.
Stores in less affluent New Haven County have experienced a similar leveling off. R.J. Julia's was up modestly in 2006, but not enough to support a vibrant business, said owner Roxanne Cody, who began a two-month sabbatical at the beginning of the year to explore other retailing models. "Do we open smaller stores in adjacent towns, getting closer to our customer? Do we develop out-of-store sales like our books-as-gifts program? Or do we have stores within stores and put two bookshelves in other places like ski stores?" she said.
Like other retailers, booksellers are faced with hurried customers who don't have time to browse. "It really is harder to draw people," says Cliff Simms, cofounder of Labyrinth. A staunch advocate of books-only academic stores, he tries to lure customers the old-fashioned way, with a large backlist. Simms also stocks books from Labyrinth's sister company, Great Jones, a wholesaler specializing in academic and scholarly titles.
Book retailers in Connecticut do have one unusual competitor—casinos. The state's two biggest gambling resorts, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, are experimenting with incorporating star authors into their entertainment lineup. As if bookselling weren't enough of a gamble.
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