Successful Succession: New Owners Talk About Buying a Bookstore
As part of its continuing coverage of succession planning issues, Bookselling This Week spoke to six bookstore owners who recently and successfully purchased independent bookstores. Last week, BTW covered "Succession II," a session from BookExpo America moderated by Ivan Barkhorn, a consultant to ABA on strategic matters, and provided a link to Barkhorn's PowerPoint presentation.
In 1980, Steven Morado Stout, now owner of New Mexico's largest independent bookstore, had a doctoral degree in anthropology and years of related work experience when the poor employment situation in Albuquerque left him jobless. Not wanting to leave the city, he needed to open his own business and create a job for himself. He considered an auto paint shop or a bar and restaurant, he told BTW.
The audiobook listener is in the driver's seat when it comes to choosing the CD or cassette format. Significant changes are underway in the availability of media formats as audio publishers pay closer attention to customer audio book purchase patterns and format preferences in an effort to increase sales.