ABA Returns to Midwest for Second Spring Program

On Saturday, April 16, the American Booksellers Association will hold its second spring Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with the Midwest Booksellers Association. All area independent booksellers are invited to attend the events, which will be held at the Brio Italian Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. This marks the first time ABA is bringing one of its forums/educational programs to Kansas City. ABA's first program in the MBA region this year was held in March in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The Kansas City program includes the popular "2% Solution" seminar and an ABACUS workshop, both led by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz. The Booksellers Forum, which will be moderated by Domnitz and ABA COO Oren Teicher, will provide an update on ABA programs and initiatives, as well as an opportunity for booksellers to voice opinions and concerns. Participants will come away from the meetings with much valuable information and a broader perspective on how their individual stores fit into the larger book industry.

From 10:00 a.m. - noon, "The 2% Solution" will present an examination of the drivers of a bookstore's profitability and how they can be reworked to move a businesses to greater profitability. Specific suggestions and ideas about sales, gross margin, total compensation, and occupancy expenses will be provided. Past ABACUS studies of independent bookstore operations have shown that the average profitability of all respondents was a negative 1.4 percent. While moving to a positive two percent is a long journey, this seminar will help booksellers start drawing a road map.

Lunch, which will be provided compliments of ABA and MBA, from noon - 12:30 p.m., will be followed by the Booksellers Forum. Input from booksellers at past ABA forums has proven indispensable in shaping the future programs and initiatives of the association. This is an opportunity for booksellers to come and be heard.

Booksellers who bring their fiscal 2004 financial statements to the ABACUS Workshop, from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., 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 bookstores' financial results can be measured.

The Brio Restaurant is located at Country Club Plaza, 502 Nichols Road in Kansas City, Missouri [(816) 561-5888; www.brioitalian.com].

To help ABA prepare for the meetings, booksellers are asked to RSVP to Kristen Gilligan, ABA's associate director of programming and constituent groups liaison, at [email protected]. For information about MBA, visit www.abookaday.com, or contact MBA Executive Director Susan Walker at (800) 784-7522 or [email protected].