Booksellers on Selling Gifts

"Don't call them sidelines, junk, or stuff. Call non-book items 'gifts,'" said Mary McCarthy of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops in Milwaukee during the panel presentation "Buying, Selling, and Managing Gifts, Sidelines, and Other Non-Book Products 201" at last month's BookExpo America in New York City. The session, moderated by ABA Marketing Director Jill Perlstein, also featured Lance Fensterman of Bound to Be Read in St. Paul, Minnesota; Julie Norcross of McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petosky, Michigan; and Steve Bercu of BookPeople, in Austin, Texas.

McCarthy told the audience of over 50 booksellers that her objective in the Schwartz Bookshops was to achieve the "wow factor." She explained, "I want my customers to come into the shop and see all kinds of interesting things. I want the store to not just be about books, but the whole experience of being there." To build or maintain the wow factor requires that "you have to be smart about what you carry. It has to make sense," she said. "But you should open yourself up to something wild."

Wowing customers also demands what McCarthy called a "cultural shift," which includes approaching gifts not as an afterthought, but as a complement to books and a way to define the bookstore's personality. The approach includes merchandizing non-gift items everywhere. "Don't ghettoize the products. Spread them throughout the shop," she advised.

McCarthy recommended that one staff member be designated the gift buyer and that he or she be given the responsibility of coordinating selection with the book buyers. And, although one staff member should buy the gifts, every staff member should familiarize themselves with the products.

In conclusion, McCarthy explained that after the gift lines have been selected and displayed, the next step is to weed out the non-sellers. "If you know it's a dog, mark it down, have a sidewalk sale, but you can't hold onto it," she said.

Next to speak was Fensterman, who, effective next month, will be managing R.J. Julia at Elm Street in New Canaan, Connecticut. At Bound to Be Read, Fensterman doubled sales of non-book items. "What grabbed me was the idea of creating an experience, of creating a more varied, evolving, and interesting experience for the customer," he said. Customers responded. "People come to the shop to find things they didn't know they wanted."

Fensterman, echoing McCarthy, said his buying strategy was to be imaginative about what can improve a customer's visit to the store. "Keep an open mind. Plan to go beyond the pen and pencil set," he advised. To generate unusual marketing concepts, Fensterman holds staff meetings where everyone is asked to give their 10 worst, silliest ideas. "Ninety-nine percent are unusable," he said. "But one percent will allow you to change what the store could be."

The result was an eclectic array of merchandise including topiaries, some of which sell for several hundred dollars, herb growing kits, wreaths, and nail files featuring scantily clad firemen. The bonus of offering diverse products is that the higher-end ones tend to enhance their surroundings and, as Fensterman pointed out, "in a nice setting people will spend more." He advised integrating merchandise with books when possible, while also keeping some gift items centrally located. "Merchandising is key," Fensterman explained. "Keep things moving. That is as key or more key than great buying."

Norcross focused on the boost in sales at McLean & Eakin Booksellers as the result of a new, albeit expensive, display area built out of brushed copper and glass. "We went into it thinking it wouldn't cost too much. But it ended up being an enormous expense.... But once we dusted it off, it was a wonderful display," she said. "It has definitely increased sales.

"If you have a crummy display, you can only put out five-dollar items. But on [the new display], we can sell something that's $300. We put products on it, and they sell like magic. It gives us the confidence to go ahead and sell pricier things." An additional benefit is "customers feel appreciated, because the area of the display is so lovely looking."

Like the other panelists, Norcross reminded the audience to ditch the non-sellers. One staff member, she said, plays "Let's Make a Deal" with anyone expressing the slightest interest in merchandise that's been languishing. "It's fun. Other customers listen in," she said.

"I love gifts," proclaimed BookPeople's Bercu. "It's a great portion of our business. The margins are good, and it changes the expectation of people coming into the store. Our store needs to be a place to buy gifts. It might be t-shirts, soaps, or jewelry, but customers know they'll find something." Gifts account for approximately 25 percent of BookPeople's annual sales, and they rise to 30 - 35 percent of sales during the holidays, said Bercu, who noted that many customers buy only gifts, and many have no idea what they'll be buying before they enter the store.

Bercu outlined some of his philosophy for managing sidelines -- start with small orders to test the waters, bring in new items frequently and move them around the store so customers can always expect something new, and when marking up prices be sure to allow for freight and shrinkage. He explained that when a customer finds a product that they're interested in buying, an extra dollar won't hurt the sale, but that negligible difference to the individual customer will augment the store's bottom line.

Like the other panelists, Bercu advised against developing a "sentimental attachment" to any non-book item. He capsulized BookPeople's policy: "If it doesn't sell in three to four months, move it. It doesn't mean it won't sell somewhere else. If it still doesn't sell in another month, discount it 25 percent. A month or two after that, take off 50 percent. If it still doesn't sell, it goes in the donation box and it's outta there." Except for a cookie jar. Bercu said one cookie jar missed the axe and was a fixture at BookPeople for four years. Recently, to everyone's amazement, it sold. -- Karen Schechner