Chain takes a page from local bookstores

Rather than the uniform multi-story superstores the national chain was known for (as in Hillsdale Shopping Center), each new bookstore is unique, in a regular storefront and holds a curated selection of books, said Janine Flanigan, Barnes & Noble’s vice president of Store Planning and Design.

“Really the idea, and the intent, is that it functions like an independent bookstore,” Flanigan said.

“Barnes & Noble realized they can’t cater to the masses anymore,” said Aaron Schlieve, owner and manager of Florey’s, an independent bookstore in Pacifica. “I can see them saying, ‘hey, some of these independent stores we thought were dying 15 years ago are still hanging in there. What are they doing that’s working?’”

Ironically, national chains like Barnes & Noble, Borders and Waldenbooks — the “boogeymen of the business” — are what threatened independent bookstores in the first place, Schlieve said.

When Schlieve’s grandmother opened Florey’s in 1977, chain stores were on the rise. They were appealing because they carried everything from A-Z at much cheaper prices, which they could afford to do because they received wholesale deals by buying in bulk.

Bookstore chains were like fast-food restaurants, while independent bookstores were the sit-down restaurants, Schlieve said.

“What was in the front of one store was the same as another. I think we lost our identity a little bit,” said Flanigan, who has worked at Barnes & Noble for almost 40 years. “We were first and foremost a bookstore, but we were influenced by leadership that was really mass retailers.”

Schlieve began working at Florey’s in 1994, a year before Amazon began selling books online. Within 10 years, the dynamic between independent bookstores and chain bookstores shifted, as both were endangered by Amazon, Schlieve said.

Amazon stored their books in warehouses on the outskirts of cities, rather than expensive, multi-story buildings in city centers, Schlieve said. Amazon also didn’t need to hire staff that were knowledgeable about books. 

Essentially, Amazon and chain bookstores were doing the same thing, but chain bookstores cost more to operate, Schlieve said. Superstores became obsolete while independent bookstores, though declining in numbers, remained unique, he said.

Closing doors, opening new ones

Books Inc. on Burlingame Avenue closed in 2018 because the store wasn’t making enough to cover rent, said Earle Peterson, who managed the Burlingame store and now works at the independent local chain’s Palo Alto location. Unfortunately, it’s an average story for independent bookstores, he said.

Major national chains also went out of business. The one that remained — Barnes & Noble — closed around 100 stores.

Flanigan said that Daunt was hired in 2019 and individual Barnes & Noble stores, such as the Burlingame Avenue location that opened in 2023, were given more flexibility and creativity.

“That’s the appeal of independent bookstores, which Barnes & Noble is beginning to pick up on,” Schlieve said. “Each store will be a little bit more catered to the actual community that it is situated in.”

Burlingame resident Gina Vasiloudis used to take her kids to Books Inc. when they were younger. Her family had missed having a bookstore on Burlingame Avenue and her 15-year-old daughter was very excited for the Barnes & Noble to open, she said.

“I was actually very impressed with the Barnes & Noble,” Vasiloudis said. “I don’t like that it is a Barnes & Noble, necessarily. I would prefer to have a smaller bookseller, but I don’t know that it’s a viable option in this age.”

Although the store looks like an independent bookstore, it doesn’t give you the same feeling an independent bookstore does, said patron Allyson Klein.

Bookstores as community

Independent bookselling isn’t a “concept” to be co-opted or a niche market, said Allison Hill, the CEO of the American Booksellers Association. Independent bookstores don’t just cater to their community, they are their community, she said.

“Independent bookstore owners are your moms and dads and school librarians. The stores aren’t money makers. They sustain, and they sustain the community,” said Lauren Savage, owner of The Reading Bug in San Carlos. “Barnes & Noble’s name is big, no matter what they do in their individual stores. It is a massive company that wants to primarily make money.”

Barnes & Noble has a large out-of-state supply line, but small businesses buy from local vendors, Peterson said. There’s a whole neighborhood economy that chain stores just can’t replicate, he said.

Independent bookstores also donate to local schools, discover new authors and hold free events to support their communities, Savage said. The community, in turn, supports them, she said.

In 2005, Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, which had been open since 1955, was going out of business, said Brittany Caine, the bookstore’s assistant general manager. The local community gathered and held demonstrations, started fundraisers and supported the store to keep it open, she said.

That’s the kind of connection that only an independent bookstore can foster, Caine said. Big chain stores just don’t have the same incentive to be a part of the community, she said.

“I’m not sure how the new Barnes & Noble model will affect our stores, we’ll kind of have to see,” Caine said. “But I think the people who shop at independent bookstores are really proud of supporting small businesses and shopping locally, and I hope they continue to do so.”