Dive Brief:
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From 2000 to 2012, Manhattan has lost 30% of its bookstores to 106 stores. Lately several independents have closed or located outside the borough because of unsustainable rents, the New York Times reports.
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Bookselling chain stores like Barnes & Noble and Borders posed a challenge to the city’s independents, but even those stores are closing.
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Meanwhile, nationwide, local independent bookstores are quite healthy, having found ways to survive the competition from bigger box stores and Amazon.
Dive Insight:
Bookstore closings in America’s arguably most literary city are worrying many New Yorkers, who believe having several strong independent bookstores is an important part of the city's physical and cultural landscapes. They’re calling on new Mayor Bill de Blasio to follow through on his pledge to help small business and step in. Rent is the biggest issue — one bookseller was thwarted by an upper west side monthly rent of $40,000 and opened her second store in Brooklyn instead.
Other American cities have managed to save their beloved local booksellers. The ones that have survived were able to do what all retailers aim to do these days: maintain special relationships with their customers and offer their spaces for gatherings, performances, and author talks. Competition is coming not just from the big box stores (who frankly have ceased to be a real threat) but also retailers like Urban Outfitters, who have stacks of well curated books that fit with their own brands. The independent bookstore is indeed a special place, with its own character fitting in with its own neighborhood; the kind of retailer that helps a big city like New York feel approachable and like home. But it’s also a business. We’ll see what Mr. de Blasio can do; it’s one for the books.