ABA to Hold First Maine Forum & Education Program

The American Booksellers Association is bringing its spring Booksellers Forum and Education Program to Portland, Maine, on Wednesday, April 20. This is the second event of the season to be held in conjunction with the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA), but the first time ABA has brought the program to Maine. ABA is encouraging all area ABA and NEBA members -- storeowners and staff -- to attend the events, which include the education session "Renegotiating a Lease," an ABACUS Workshop, and an open forum discussion. Lunch will be provided compliments of ABA and NEBA. ABA believes that participants will come away from the events with a broader perspective on how their individual stores fit into the larger industry.

The program, held at the Portland Public Library from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., will begin with the session "Renegotiating a Lease," which emanates out of the popular "The 2% Solution" seminar. "Renegotiating a Lease" explores how carefully monitoring industry trends, paying attention to the local real estate market, and maintaining a dialogue with a landlord will put booksellers in a better position to control their occupancy expenses. Real-world examples will be used to demonstrate how to create a plan for entering into a discussion about an existing lease. The material will include using ABACUS benchmarks to frame discussions with landlords and will cover such issues as paying by the square foot vs. paying a percent of sales, why booksellers need to begin a lease renegotiation well in advance of it becoming a necessity, and more. This two-hour session will be followed by a complimentary lunch at noon.

Following lunch will be the ABA Booksellers Forum, from 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, COO Oren Teicher, and Associate Director of Book Sense Marketing Meg Smith will provide an update on association programs and initiatives. Booksellers are encouraged to come prepared to ask questions and express opinions. Their input will be used to help develop future ABA programming.

From 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. will be the ABACUS Workshop. Booksellers who bring their fiscal 2004 financial statements will receive one-on-one help in completing the 2005 ABACUS survey, as well as a coupon for $50 off their next ABA dues renewal. The ABACUS study is helping all independent booksellers by establishing a standard against which a store's financial results can be measured.

The Portland Public Library is located at 5 Monument Square, Portland, Maine 04101 [(207) 871-1700; www.portlandlibrary.com].

For planning purposes, booksellers who intend to participate are asked to RSVP to Kristen Gilligan, ABA's associate director of programming and constituent groups liaison, at [email protected].

For more information about NEBA, visit www.newenglandbooks.org, or contact NEBA Executive Director Rusty Drugan at (800) 466-8711 or [email protected].

To read about ABA's earlier program in the NEBA region, go to news.bookweb.org/read/3307.