2005 ABACUS Report Offers Insight Into Independent Bookstore Operations
For the past three years, in an effort to help booksellers increase their profit margins, the American Booksellers Association has been gathering data on the financial operations of its member bookstores. Each year, these results have been published in a new ABACUS Study and participants have been sent customized store reports, which compare their financial performance with the performance of other stores based on more than 20 different criteria.
Booksellers who want to take advantage of the special $89 hotel room rate at the Long Beach Hilton, the host hotel of the American Booksellers Association's inaugural Winter Institute, must register by November 15. The Winter Institute will be held on Thursday, January 26, and Friday, January 27, 2006, and for booksellers who are traveling to Long Beach, California, ABA has arranged the special $89 rate, available for three nights: Wednesday, January 25, through Friday, January 27.
The demand for gift cards is exploding according to CNN/Money, and retailers of all sorts -- gas stations, restaurants, hair salons, and many more -- are looking to cash in on the $45 billion gift card business. This demand is fueled in part by busy holiday shoppers, who value the one-stop-shopping convenience of gift cards.