Chapter 11 Revives Popular Store in Atlanta

Patrons of a former Waldenbooks in Norcross, a part of metro-Atlanta, are extremely happy that the shuttered store has turned Chapter 11. This Chapter 11 is hardly a financial calamity, though. It's a family-owned, Atlanta-based chain of 14 neighborhood bookstores. As of March 1, make that 15 with the Norcross store, which was one of the few freestanding Borders-owned Waldenbooks.

Perry Tanner, owner of Chapter 11, told BTW that he had been eyeing the bookstore from the time he heard it was closing. When Waldenbooks didn't renew the lease, despite a flood of letters and calls from customers requesting that the store be kept open, Tanner decided it would make a good site for another Chapter 11 Books. "I went to the store and walked around as a shopper," he said. "I noticed a number of things that appealed to me for a new store. The closest Chapter 11 is 10 miles away. Our stores are all between four thousand and six thousand square feet -- this one was four. Its location is good -- it's not inside a mall or a typical strip shopping center. We are a neighborhood bookstore. Parking and access to the store are easy."

The location was a big draw for Tanner, but so was the experienced, enthusiastic staff who had cultivated a large group of loyal customers and who were hosting many author signings and readings. Leaving the management team in place was Tanner's intention from the start. The 15-year-old Waldenbooks had become a beloved institution in the area, but was beginning to show signs of wear. Tanner negotiated to have Waldenbooks leave its fixtures, which were fairly new as they had been replaced in the late 1990s due to extensive tornado damage. After Waldenbooks vacated the space, Tanner had the place painted and installed new carpeting and tiles. As a Chapter 11 store, it required a new POS system to enable staff to search for copies of books throughout the other 14 stores. Tanner said that customers can usually pick up a book sent from another Chapter 11 store by the next day.

Why, Tanner was asked, would a Chapter 11 store succeed in this spot if a Waldenbooks was unable to survive? Tanner described some of the differences in the business structure of a chain bookstore versus a locally owned independent. "For one thing," he said, "there was no overhead that we had to add, just a little remodeling and the extra staff. We were able to negotiate a much better lease agreement. We look at the business totally different than the chains. Their overhead structure is tremendous."

Fortunately for the staff and customers of the old store, it was run a bit like an independent. "The managers and staff had established a relationship in the old store," Tanner explained. "Customers would come in asking George [Scott, assistant manager] what he was reading. They had arranged book signings and had customized the inventory, somewhat. Waldenbooks did give the store some latitude. [The staff] obviously care about their customers. We ask that the management of all our stores think of their store as their own. We have central buying for frontlist titles and remainders, but managers are allowed to replenish stock. There are differences in what each store carries because staff caters to the needs of their clientele."

"People who come to our stores from working at chain stores," Tanner noted, "have a good grounding in business fundamentals. Now they can learn to use their creative freedom. I hear former chain employees saying, 'You mean I don't have to use the things on this end cap? Those don't have to be there?' They have more freedom."

Tanner said, "People [had] been knocking on the door for weeks," prior to Chapter 11's opening. Now that the store has opened he has been very pleased with the work of the staff and the management team of Scott and [manager] Amy Hartwig. He noted, "I'm trying to stay out of their way as much as possible." --Nomi Schwartz