Black Friday Weekend Yields Mixed Results for Booksellers

More than 147 million consumers went shopping over the Black Friday weekend, a 4.8 percent increase from last year, according to the National Retail Federation, but those shoppers spent an average of 3.5 percent less than the previous year. And, though NRF continues to project a four percent increase in overall holiday sales, the organization warned that the results of the holiday season won't be determined until the last two weeks of December, a sentiment echoed by the independent booksellers who spoke to BTW for this informal round-up.

An analysis of holiday weekend sales across the family of BookSense.com sites, however, found that orders were up 35 percent this year, as compared to the 21 percent overall gain in online sales as reported by the Wall Street Journal. And at the nearly 400 locations participating in the Book Sense Gift Card Program, gift card sales rose an average of 11.89 percent on Black Friday compared to last year's results.

With many holiday weekend shoppers on the lookout for bargains at chain stores, Black Friday was not a big sales days at both locations of Books Etc. in Maine, said owner Allan Schmid, who explained that business in the 2,400-square-foot Portland store and the 4,600-square-foot Falmouth store gets really busy during the two weeks before Christmas.

Selling well at Books Etc., however, have been The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters (Random House) and The Story of Sugarloaf, by John Christie (Down East Books). The latter is a detailed account of the history and development of the internationally renowned Maine ski resort.

According to Schmid, sales for the three post-Thanksgiving sales days were down from last year, but he anticipates an increase in business with the help of the New England Independent Booksellers Association holiday catalog. This year, instead of the shotgun approach of previous years, Schmid said, the store's distribution of the catalog will be much more targeted. Catalogs are being sent to the names on the store's mailing list and a few select local papers, rather than stuffed into the area's Sunday paper. Books Etc. will be discounting all books in the catalog if the customer brings in a coupon.

In Richmond, Virginia, owner Kelly Justice told BTW that business at the Fountain Bookstore was "pretty good, but [Black Friday] is not one of our busier days," because downtown workers who regularly shop in the store were off. However, a comparison of this Friday's sales at the 1,000-square-foot store to last year's showed a dramatic increase, which "makes me very happy," she said.

"Book Sense gift cards sold really well, and we're new at that," she added. "We ordered the special Skippyjon Jones cards [offered in mid-September], and they led to a marked increase in sales of the Skippyjon books (Judy Schachner, Dutton).

"My booksellers were doing their jobs -- handselling their picks," Justice said. "Boone: A Biography by Robert Morgan (Algonquin) sold well because we had a recent visit from [Morgan], and we had a number of signed copies. Christopher Moore's backlist book, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (Morrow), is out in a new special gift edition with gilt edged pages and gold lettering on the cover."

Sales at The BookMark Shoppe in Brooklyn, New York, were almost identical to last year, co-owner Bina Valenzano told BTW. "People aren't really into gift buying yet," she said. "And we're on a busy avenue, but not near any shopping centers or chain stores."

Valenzano said that BookMark's sales build over the season, and the big increase in business is in the two weeks before Christmas. The four-year-old, 1,500-square-foot store offers a panoply of unique holiday gifts.

Robert Sabuda's mini pop-up book, Winter in White (Little Simon), has become a popular stocking stuffer. And dogs in the canine-friendly neighborhood can sport a T-shirt claiming, "Sorry Santa, I ate your Cookies," from Moochie.

Also selling well is a line of ornaments from GiftGiant.com, which the store personalizes on the spot. "The ornaments came with a handbook and a special pen," she said. "We've sold out of a few styles already."

Valenzano has found that the holiday-themed felt gift bags from Groovy Holidays and Burton & Burton are a great way to package the ornaments. "Customers buy the ornament with the bag instead of using our free gift wrapping service," she said. About giftwrap, she added, only one style is available at The BookMark Shoppe this year; choices led to problems in the past.

On reorder at The BookMark is Where Is Baby's Dreidel? A Lift-the-Flap Book by Karen Katz (Little Simon), which Valenzano hopes will be in stock in time for the eight days of Hanukkah, beginning the evening of December 4.

Despite being just 30 minutes from Wal-Mart headquarters, Lisa Sharp of Nightbird Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas, reported that sales were up 42 percent from last year for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday following Thanksgiving. "It was a really good steady weekend," she said. "We placed the [Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance] regional catalog in Saturday's newspaper.... one person bought $250 worth of stuff right out of the catalog."

The week prior to Thanksgiving was also "really good," Sharp said, adding that it was most likely due to the store holding five offsite events in three days that week. "All of November has definitely picked up; it's been building steadily." Sales had been in a bit of a lull, she noted, but at the end of October "things kicked into gear. It was a real relief."

One of the top sellers over the weekend was Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy by Matthew Reinhart (Orchard Books). "And there were a lot of strange things," Sharp said, such as sales of Guitar: Total Scales Techniques and Applications With CD by Mark John Sternal (MJS Publications). "I sold two and have orders for two more." She also overlooked The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without by Mollie Katzen (Hyperion). "But I'm pretty lucky with my shoppers -- they will let me order the book for them."

Sidelines that sold well included Mud Puppy Press puzzles and MerryMakers book-themed dolls, such as Olivia or Walter the Farting Dog. "A lot of grandparents are happy to buy a book and a doll paired up," Sharp said.

At Apple Blossom Books in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the weekend following Thanksgiving "wasn't a fabulous sales weekend," said Candy Pearson. "We were down from last year ... by eight percent." The weekend's results were surprising considering that sales at the two-year-old bookstore had been growing. However, Pearson noted that the week leading up to Thanksgiving had been average. "I suspect that this week will be better," she said. "We have a book signing with Jennifer Chiaverini [author of the Elm Creek Quilts series]."

Pearson reported that bestsellers included The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers (HarperCollins); Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin); and Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld (Collins). One surprise this past weekend were the requests for Gallop! by Rufus Seder (Workman). "We didn't get it in right way and it was back-ordered -- so it's a little late for sales." As for sidelines, Pearson said Mud Puppy Press puzzles sold well.

Sales climbed approximately 10 percent higher than last year, said Bobby Tichenor, owner of Annie Bloom's Books in Portland, Oregon. "We had a great weekend," she explained. "We're seeing Christmas sales a little earlier. I don't know if that's because Thanksgiving was so early this year, but business has been building throughout November."

Tichenor also credited the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association holiday catalog, distributed in the local paper, with driving sales, as well as customers perceiving books as "good value" when many are cutting back their budgets. "People are spending less in general, but more on books," she said. "It's a good thing for us."

Hearts of Horses (Houghton Mifflin) by Molly Gloss, who will be signing next week at the store, was "by far the biggest seller," said Tichenor. Workman's "scanimation" flip-book, Gallop! has been "flying out of here," she added.

Nancy Rutland of Bookworks Albuquerque, New Mexico, noted that Thanksgiving typically kicks off a "buying frenzy" at the bookstore since many of her customers bring their friends and family during the long weekend. "People like to bring out-of-town visitors to unique places in the community," she said. "That's their independent bookstore."

Still, even with all the activity, Rutland said her holiday weekend sales were down from last year. "We've done significantly less this year -- 20 percent." The noteworthy silver lining, however, is that although sales are down for the year, profitability is up. "We're selling smarter this year," she said. "I'm very optimistic. I think there's a great, eclectic mix of books. I find that heartening."

Bookworks sold out of A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote, but more copies are on the way. "The Valerie Plame Wilson book [Fair Game, S&S] just keeps on selling," said Rutland. "And Clinton [Giving, Knopf] sold more than I would have expected." But the likely overall bestseller of the year at Bookworks is Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown Young Readers). Rutland has sold more than 750, and expects to top 1,000 before the year is over.

As far as non-book items, Rutland said she's sold "a ton" of calendars, including the Graffiti World calendar. Perennial top-sellers are the Unemployed Philosophers Guild candies -- Impeachmints, Indictmints, etc. And the Bookshop Santa Cruz Bush Countdown Clock "just keeps chugging," she said.

Diesel, A Bookstore's Malibu location had an "atypical" Black Friday weekend because of a nearby wildfire, said owner John Evans. The store was undamaged by the second major area fire in a month and remained open with reduced hours. Evans and co-owner Alison Reid had to evacuate their home, which was also undamaged, and have since returned. "People were relieved that we were open, so things seemed more normal. But everybody is shell-shocked...."

Both the Diesel in Malibu and in Oakland were in "great shape" leading up to Black Friday, Evans reported. "People started shopping earlier because Hanukkah is earlier this year. So we've being doing well over the last week or so. Friday was a little busier than expected, but it's not a particularly big day for either store." What the effect of the latest Malibu fire on holiday sales would be, Evans said was hard to predict.

Bestsellers at Diesel include Richard Misrach: On the Beach (Richard Misrach, Aperture) and Clapton (Eric Clapton, Broadway Books). "The Clapton book is selling like crazy," said Evans. "It's a classic book for a Malibu audience."

Sidelines are kept to a minimum at Diesel, explained Evans, but Diesel's own T-shirts that say "born to read" are selling well, as are Christmas and Hanukkah cards and calendars. --David Grogan, Karen Schechner, and Nomi Schwartz