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Third Place Books
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Third Place Books A "Great Good Place" For Families and Friends to Gather In an age when independent bookstores are closing shop all around the nation as mega-chains like Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Internet purveyors like Amazon.com gobble up all the book buyers. Ron Sher, a shopping center developer, opens up a new-concept bookstore chain based on the idea that every community needs a great and entertaining place to gather, relax, and share the simple pleasures like good books, music, food, theater, and . . . well read the story! Idealists are quick to quote the old adage, "Man does not live by bread alone." Those with less utopian views are just as quick to respond, "Yeah, but somewhere, somehow, you need to be able to buy the bread." Ron Sher, the innovative owner of Third Place Books, a new-concept bookstore with two locations in Bellevue and Seattle, Washington, falls somewhere between the two points of view. Of his bibliophilic endeavor, he comments, "We're going to try to make the world a better place -- and make some money." He has set himself an awesome task in a market dominated by a growing number of book 'superstores' like Barnes & Noble, Borders and Amazon.com. Many independent bookstores and smaller chains simply cannot compete when one of those 'big boys' opens its doors nearby, offering plush surroundings, discounted prices and sophisticated Internet hook-ups that allow the purchase of books without even going to the store. But the ability to go to a bookstore -- in fact, the need to do so -- may be the key to success for Third Place Books. Sher says his idea is based on the concept that people need to congregate, gleaned from sociologist Ray Oldenburg's "The Great Good Place," in which the author stresses the human need for a gathering place outside of the home or the workplace. Sher is giving people good reasons to do so, offering not only books for good food, entertainment, education and a central meeting place to experience it all. "We focus on the community," he explains. "Then we let them gather around ideas." Sher hasn't just pulled his ideas out of a hat. He has a successful working model of the 'community center' concept at Bellevue's Crossroads Shopping Center, which he has resurrected from a retail disaster into that the surrounding community now calls a "mall with a soul." His real estate development and management company, Terranomics Development, gutted the core of the failing complex to create a public market area, bringing in ethnic restaurants, tables and chairs, seating for 1,000 to view free offerings on a public stage and a giant chess set with two-foot high pieces. The project has won numerous community awards and the support of the surrounding populace. In redeveloping Crossroads, Sher noticed that the two bookstores there, Half Price Books and Barnes & Noble, were great draws to the center. The concept for Third Place Books was the recombinant offspring of Crossroads' successful elements, hooking together the lure of a good bookstore with a place for the community to gather. Helping to co-found Third Place was Julien Riepe, who was a regional manager for Half Price and is now in charge of new and used book inventories for Third Place. The original Third Place Books opened in November 1998 in the Lake Forest Park Towne Center in Bellevue. The 44,000-sq. ft. store was termed "a bold move" by industry analysts, who pointed out that most independent bookstores were fighting to survive, let alone opening new stores. In the market surrounding Third Place Books, ten book superstores have opened in the same county during the last five years. Independent Kay's Bookmark, adjacent to a Barnes & Noble in University Village, has closed its doors. The Bellevue branch of the 99-year-old University Book Store is scaling down operations due to declining sales. Even the founder of Powell's Books, a giant independent based in Portland, claims that the superstore competition is delivering near-knockout punches. Nationally, the superstore numbers are astounding Industry figures show 1998 sales for Borders and Barnes & Noble combined as $5.5 billion. Newcomer Amazon.com pulled in almost $6 million and Wal-Mart and Costco sell huge quantities of books. Many feel that discount prices are driving the sales of the large chains. In fact, the American Booksellers Association last year joined 26 independents in filing an antitrust lawsuit against Barnes & Noble and Borders, alleging that the book giants were forcing publishers to give them secret deals. Sher has a successful working model of the "community center" concept at Bellevue's Crossroads Shopping Center, which he has resurrected from a retail disaster into what the surrounding community now calls a"mall with a soul." But against all odds, Sher believed strongly that the elements that had proved so successful at Crossroads could be replicated. Besides offering more than 200,000 new and used books, Third Place Books has a 13,000-sq. ft. community area. Five restaurants are on-site; a bakery/coffee shop and an American-style diner are owned by Sher, and three other eateries, offering Mexican, Chinese/Japanese and Italian cuisines, respectively, are run by outside concerns. There is a full-sized demo kitchen, where cookbook authors can strut their stuff or local chefs can give classes. A stage area boasts a large screen for TV or Internet viewing and seating for 650. When electronic entertainment is not available, the stage is heavily booked with other forms of free public entertainment. A hugely popular feature is another giant chess board, which Sher says is a great draw for families. A smaller room offers space for poetry and author readings. Either the large or small areas may be used for parties, community group meetings, or book group meetings. Three months after Sher opened Third Place Books, he surprised industry analysts by acquiring a new location. In March 1999, he purchased the 25,000-sq. ft. Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle, a much-beloved 26-year veteran of the independent book trade. The buy-out was completed on friendly terms. It had been solicited by Elliott Bay's former owner and founder, Walter Carr. Sher says he won't change the character of the store, considered a Seattle institution by both book lovers and the general public. Elliott Bay will retain its name, separate identity, and much of its staff, but Sher will drop in a few of his community-oriented ideas to help make the store competitive. Sher is not ignoring the competition surrounding both Third Place Books and Elliot Bay. He describes it as "very good and very tough." But he thinks his stores can compete by offering the community experience, an eclectic venue for discovery, and great values through the opportunity to purchase used books. "Value and discovery are a great combination," he has found. The American Booksellers Association and 26 independents filed an antitrust lawsuit against Barnes & Noble and Borders, alleging that they were forcing publishers to give them secret deals that spelled death for local book stores in every state Both stores will offer both new and used books in order to meet a variety of tastes and budgets. Sher says that he hopes to provide enough new books so that customers will be able to find 85 percent to 90 percent of what they are seeking, which is usually fueled by current best-seller lists and award-winners. Classics are always in vogue, as well, and Sher says his stores will continue to emphasize good literature. But providing a real market to find and sell used books may be these stores' salvations, both because of the value/discovery combination in which Sher believes so strongly and because the opportunity to sell their books acts as another way to draw people in. The stores offer both cash or store credit for used books. The price paid is determined by salability, demand and rarity. Third Place will piggy-back on its used-book market by upping its investment into collectors' editions, antiquities and out-of-print books. This investment will, in turn, jump-start the store's entry into the Internet market, which is currently dominated by Amazon.com and other big superstores. Third Place will compete by specializing in hard-to-find titles. Sher says that by next year, he hopes to have 500,000 titles in stock and that his company is already at work on an extensive data base. Third Place Books has a 13,000-sq. ft. community area, five restaurants on-site, a full-sized demo kitchen, where cookbook authors can strut their stuff, a stage area seating 650 for free entertainment, and a gathering room for author readings, parties and community meetings Sher also hopes to expand his locations, with a possible three to four openings by the end of 2000. He believes in hands-on central management, and for now, will concentrate on areas that fall within a day's commute, even if by air, of his current locations. "We look for a community that needs a place like ours," he says, adding that preferred demographics include dense populations of well-educated persons. He says his expansion policy will remain opportunistic -- that for the most part, he intends to open new stores, but that if another opportunity like Elliot Bay comes along, he will take it. "Ours is a project that creates vitality and energy in a community that needs it. That's what we really look for." So far, the communities in Bellevue and Seattle have welcomed the Third Place concept with open arms. Because there are so many peripheral activities to draw in many different community members for many reasons, book lovers and readers are just part of the Third Place fan club. "I believe that if you go into a community and offer services and support, they will support you." he says. "people thank us and want us to succeed." Sher says he recently overheard a woman commenting on his stated goal for making the world a better place and making money while doing it. She said, "and I do hope he makes money." Sher's response: "We're going to try." For more information about Third Place Books, contact: Ron Sher, 901 104th Avenue Northeast, Suite 200, Bellevue, WA 98004; (425) 453-0324 Old Books Mean New Money for Superstores Many in the book selling industry believe that if there is a safe haven for independent booksellers, a place where they might hold their own against the new superstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders, it is in the "antiquarian" book market. It has been assumed that the years of study and expertise required to successfully find, identify, buy and sell old books would remain the domain of bibliophiles and academic types. But the superstores didn't get super by ignoring market opportunities and they probably won't ignore the antiquarian book trade either. Michael Selzer, president of Bibliofind, Inc., commented in an article appearing in the January 26, 1998 issue of AB Bookman's Weekly, "I believe that the "super" booksellers have access to all the skills we antiquarians like to believe we possess -- and to vastly greater financial sources, as well. If they decide to sell antiquarian books (and I think that decision is all but made), they will be very successful." Selzer points out that seven Barnes & Nobles are already selling used books, with the Paramus, New Jersey store stocked with 10,000 titles and the Roseville, Minnesota store boasting nearly twice that number as it opened its doors last September. He also cites Books-A-Million and Chapters as chain stores that are selling used books alongside new ones. The primary vehicles for selling old or used books will become the Internet, Selzer feels. He credits Amazon.com with making the Internet forum a mainstream sales strategy of the modern market. Of course, that modern market also includes the sale of new books, as well, and huge databases of new titles are being compiled along the lists of old ones. All the superstores are making major investments into these databases and sophisticated web sites on which to sell their inventory, whether old or new. And so, the old modernization clean-up strategy of "out with the old, in the with the new" may become a new model for all booksellers: "in and out with both old and new." |