Bookshop Intrs

8/12/2019 Bookshop Intrs

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Bookstore Presentation

method & motivation

An overview of the practices of bookstore presentation

and the factors that influence how a bookstore is organised.

Some Pertinent Statistics of the environment in which I work

214,000 titles on the database

22 staff with average tenure of 9 years

average of 740,000 visitors per annum

average of 500 new releases each month

approximately 120 suppliers


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Presentation Format

I will cover the factors that lead to the way our bookstore is

presented and give some practical examples of both the uniqueand standard characteristics of merchandising and

presentation.

Store Culture

Store Patrons

Store Buying

Store Merchandising


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Store Culture

We have as our guiding philosophy that abookstore should be a place peopled by

enthusiastic and knowledgeable personnel, with

an ambience that is comfortable and pleasant,

and a range that is comprehensive and easily

accessed.


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Enthusiastic and knowledgeable personnel

Deliberately recruiting to achieve an eclectic mix, I am most

interested in having people with us who have a passion for

books and who see their work environment as a statement of

who they are, and as an integral part of their life.

By so doing, I am forming the culture of the store that will

attract and reflect the clientele.


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Comfortable and pleasant ambience

To reflect the management philosophy of the business, to cater for the

highest productivity levels possible, and for practical reasons pertaining to

Occupational Health & Safety, our store is:

Uncluttered and open at the front of the store to allow a visitor to sense that

the world of books is opening before them

Spacious within - wide aisles, several open spaces with chairs scattered

throughout the store, small tables on which to rest books

Unadorned - very few posters, clear signage throughout, no publisheradvertising material

Personalised - staff recommendations are prominent, top shelf reflects

the gems in our range, flat tables are used to highlight buyers choices.


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Comprehensive and easily accessed range

Three buyers see representatives from all the major and mid-

range suppliers each month with their list of new releases

As well, they peruse catalogues from local and international

publishers

The internet is used to search for specific titles or areas of

interest raised by our customers

Media interest in subjects is monitored and of course book

reviews are scanned and filed for all staff to access


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Comprehensive and easily accessed range

Our database is specific to the book trade and is particularly robust in the

areas of accuracy and reporting. ISBN is the key field on which the

information is built. At time of purchasing, the buyers designate thecategory and department into which a book title will be entered. It is then

accessed either by ISBN, title, or author. This basic information is stored

in a public access version of the database that is available for use from

three terminals in the store. Our personnel can search also by purchasinghistory, receiving history, special order status, imprint, and

publisher/supplier. Store design and signage is inextricably linked to the

order of categories and departments on the system.

We also run online database searching systems at two points in the store

for staff to access all books currently in print in Britain, USA, Australia,

South Africa, and New Zealand.


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STORE PATRONS

Anyone and everyone who reads should be considered our

clientele. We should, as a quality general bookseller, be able to

cater for all needs whether directly through our range or by our

special order service.

Our demographic includes:

city workers

city residentsinterstate and overseas visitors

Melburnians and Victorians


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Bookstore Patrons

Book lovers typically also love bookstores and feel connected to their store.

As a result, their expectation of our service and knowledge is extremely high.

We know, through our experience and through the responses to a survey weran some time back with our Privileged Reader Programme members, our

patrons:

Absolutely value the fact that our booksellers remain with us and aretherefore familiar to them

Want us to keep to a minimum the introduction of other merchandise rather

than sacrifice book space

Value new book information ahead of discount or special offers

Want us to maintain the spaciousness of the store and the sense that whilst

they can be given help if required, they are also welcome to stay in the storeand browse.


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STORE BUYING

Establishing the tenets of our business and translating these into

reality should mean that the experience of being in our store iscomfortable and inviting. Indeed, as mentioned earlier, our

store should reflect our clientele and vice versa.

The choices in our purchasing and the ways in which we

merchandise our store are the key elements that exemplify the

store culture and the clientele interests.


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Store Purchasing Decisions

Utilising both the computer information at our disposal and our own buying

prowess, we choose stock based on a number of variables:

Previous history: how the author/subject has sold

Trends in clients interests - e.g. we note that our Australian biographies are

selling well and see the need to add to the range

We take note of the publicity campaigns organised and the media

engagements confirmed for the author

We recognise gaps in our range and look for stock that will add to a subject

area.

We expand our areas of interest to reflect an outlook that is interesting,unusual, ground-breaking.

Examples of buying decisions based on


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adding interest and uniqueness to our range

IN TRANSLATION

We set aside a small area in the store devoted to fiction titles that, in English,

have been translated from the original source. This range invariably sells

through every week - that is, we have to top up the section every week.

Why?

It highlights titles that would possibly be lost on the shelves

It sends a message that we are interested in more than the bestsellers

It reflects a broad range and a depth of range not usually displayed in most

stores

E l f b i d i i b d


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adding interest and uniqueness to our range

LIMITED EDITION OF 15 USHERS ISLAND

A collaboration between ourselves and the owner and restorer of James Joyce

House, 15 Ushers Island, Dublin, Ireland. We are the exclusive, worldwide

stockist of this CD recording, packaged with a recording of Dubliners.

Why is a Melbourne bookstore initiating and undertaking this?

Linked to to a dedicated website for Ushers Island editions,this gives us a

global clientele and the associated awareness of our business

It reinforces for our clientele and local publishers that we are innovative andenthusiastic which in turn will lead to other projects.

It provides us with a unique item that we can market and as such gives us a

clear point of difference both in the item itself and the perception of how weconduct business


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STORE MERCHANDISING

Typical retail practice will include ideas and actions such as:

Add on

Sell up

No spare space on a display stand

Promotional bins and posters to push the latest release

You will find none of these concepts per se in practice at

Readers Feast


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Merchandising to suit the client

If, as I have demonstrated, my clientele is interested in

information, is open to new and interesting ranges, and wants tofeel comfortable and spend time in our store, then

Our merchandising has to suit this set of criteria and above all

be

SUBTLE

S b l b ff i h di i


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Subtle but effective merchandising

Our displays will be accessible and will reflect our range through the new

releases from all categories, not just the obvious or expected bestsellers

Our displays will reflect the buying decisions we have made and the titleswe have felt worthy of inclusion in our book guide

Our store will be uncrowded and will feature our recommendations rather

than publisher promotional material that is obviously linked to purchasingdeals

We will include things such as the best sellers lists from the UK, Aust, and

the USA to let the customer feel part of the global community of readers

We will want to reflect our own reading tastes in our displays, featuring titles

that have captivated us and which we want to promote to others as worthy of

consideration

G d ld f hi d t il h di i


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Good old fashioned retail merchandising

Subtlety and a personal approach to merchandising doesnt mean dispensing

with correct procedures:

Always think about the view from each side of a display and try to ensure

that book spines are on show

Never let a display run down but rather keep them topped up or change them

if the item is moving fast

Change displays regularly, remembering that many of the clients are

frequent visitors to the store

Theme displays so that the mix of titles makes sense

Think symmetrically - never let an end display be lopsided or looking slight


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Bookshop Intrs

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