Barbara's Bookstores Sell Books Where None Have Gone Before

Barbara's Bookstores, the 40-year-old, Chicago-based chain of nine independents, will soon open its 10th store. The new store will be inside the nation's second-largest department store, the Marshall Field's on State Street in downtown Chicago. An 11th store, on the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois, is not far behind.

Field's, the 62-store chain owned by Target Corporation since 1990, is creating a Harrods of London-type store-within-a-store concept only at its flagship location. Preferring smaller or unusual vendors, Marshall Field's has welcomed some select, upscale vendors including Thomas Pink shirt tailors, Levenger, Internet company Yahoo Inc., and Barbara's Bookstores.

Donald Barliant, owner of Barbara's Bookstores, told BTW, "Marshall Field's contacted us when it was determined that they were going to implement a pilot project for the flagship State Street store. It is making a small number of partnerships that have name recognition in the Chicago area. For many, we are Chicago's bookstore. I like to say we are its biggest and oldest independent bookseller.

"It's a new way to sell books to a more general audience. I hope that by selling books in nontraditional locations [Barbara's has opened stores in major airports, train stations, a medical center, and Chicago's Navy Pier], we can compete in a new way. We will have 2,400-square-feet near the new, beautiful food court. The book department will also operate a contiguous newspaper and magazine department. The construction of the new space is going on right now, and we plan to open in mid-August," Barliant said. A major store grand opening, replete with celebrities, glamorous events, and much media, is planned by Field's for the fall.

"This is a licensing arrangement, not a lease," Barliant explained. "The merchandise is ours. All sales are Marshall Field's sales on Field's cash registers. Customer receipts are from Marshall Field's. The employees are ours, but they will receive training from Marshall Field's. They'll also get the Field's employee discount. Barbara's will get a percentage of sales. We are paying them a fee, in effect, but we get the larger part of the sale. They build the space; provide the heat, light, computers, training; and considerable publicity and advertising. We also do our own advertising. Book purchases will initially have to be entered into two systems since Field's registers don't process ISBN numbers."

In a very recent, but separate agreement, Barbara's Bookstores is now the primary source for all books at all Marshall Field's stores. "That just kind of happened in the course of our discussions and meetings," said the affable Barliant. "They liked the idea of having people who know books supply the other stores. These are not stores with bookstores, but [they] have books in many different departments. It's quite a large expansion and difficult to execute. They operate stores in 14 states. The primary activity is in 15 stores in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Chicago."

This fall, Barbara's is also opening a large full-service trade bookstore at the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois. Textbooks will be sold elsewhere on campus. Operating under a license from the school, Barbara's will run an 8,000-square-foot store, with a coffee-and-wine service run by a separate company. In an adjacent space, University administration is proposing a literary center, in possible partnership with the Chicago Tribune and other foundations."

Although his business is expanding, Barliant resists the label of a chain store. "When we owe Random House money, they call me. My wife buys the backlist books. Each of our stores is run by a manager who is to treat it as his or her store. There's no cookie cutter sameness to any of our stores. Our La Guardia store carries different inventory and looks completely different from our Philadelphia store. Our original store, on Wells Street in Chicago, is like an old-fashioned City Lights-type place. We need our niche locations to keep the neighborhood stores healthy. What we are doing is competing in a new way and keeping all of our stores. Our Oak Park store is still the community's bookseller despite the arrival of a Border's on the same side of the street. Our 700-square-foot-space on the ground floor of the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago is doing great."

Barliant concluded, "We've never operated with a business plan. Every single one of our sites has resulted from a serendipitous situation. Opportunities have been presented to us. We've succeeded in these niches because we offer something distinctive and individual. That's what we are." -- Nomi Schwartz