Clash Speaks Volumes : Some Independent Bookstore Owners Say Chains Threaten Their Survival

More than just a mile and a half of Laurel Canyon Boulevard separates the venerable Dutton’s Books from the upstart Bookstar superstore.

In North Hollywood, Dave Dutton, owner of the 22-year-old Dutton’s, stacks new and old books in combustible, unsteady towers and in double rows on dusty shelves. In Studio City, Bookstar boasts 10,000 square feet of neatly stocked, discounted titles.

The physical distance between the two may be immaterial for many book buyers, but it represents the front line of an impending book battle--one that will shift existing relationships between chain stores, independent booksellers, specialty shops and even book clubs.

In Lido Marina Village, Irma Wolfson awaits the opening of Bookstar’s third Orange County location in 17 months, in Triangle Square, Costa Mesa. Wolfson manages Lido Book Shop, purveyor of popular and unusual books, out-of-town newspapers and foreign language publications.

She is hoping that her service and quality will compete effectively with the larger store, “but you can call us in three months after they open,” she said.

Open since April 3, the Studio City Bookstar is one of the latest of a recently built spate of book “superstores” run by large corporations--in this case, New York-based Barnes & Noble--that have moved into the physical and financial territory occupied by independent booksellers.

In some cases, the independents have closed soon afterward--though whether their closure was brought on by the increased competition, or was merely coincident with it, remains hotly debated.

In Dutton’s case, the true effect of the competition will be judged over the next few months, particularly during the busy Christmas season. For now, Dutton blames the fact that his business is down 10% from last year on the recession. But such a slowdown at a time of increasing competition, he said, means that “it’s a little scary out there.”

Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Donna Passannante conceded that the location of the company’s new stores has been carefully orchestrated, and “yes, we are opening bookstores where there are other bookstores.”

Because the company is preparing to go public, Passannante would not release earnings or sales figures. Nonetheless, she insisted that “opening one of our stores does not close the market--in fact, it opens it.”

Not everyone agrees.

“A general, independent bookseller cannot survive in L.A. anymore,” said Gwen Feldman, president of the Southern California Booksellers Assn. and the owner of Samuel French Bookshops. “I’m not anti-chain, but I think there has to be a place for the independents and that personal touch.”

Like other industry experts, Feldman pointed to the inherent protections that chain stores enjoy. A larger company’s capital allows such stores to weather the same economic downturns and competition that might force an independent out of business. The chain stores, as Feldman said, “have deep pockets.”

While superstores offering substantial price reductions are a fairly recent innovation, many industry experts are following their rapid expansion with concern.

“It’s not just a question of these things not working in the long run,” said Chuck Robinson, president of the American Booksellers Assn. and co-owner of a bookstore in Bellingham, Wash. “It’s also a question of changing the marketplace.

“If the concept is successful,” he asked, “will they continue to sell a wide diversity of books? Will there be places where one can buy books that aren’t common to all stores?”

In fact, several independent booksellers have found that in order to survive the changing bookselling landscape, they must tailor their selection in order to survive. Specialty stores, which carry a wider range of books in a specific field than general bookstores, are among the few independent bookstores that report steady--and, occasionally, growing--revenue.

One example is Sisterhood Bookstore, the premier feminist bookstore in the Los Angeles area, which has enjoyed increasing sales the last few years, according to owner Adele Wallace.

But Wallace pointed to a variety of non-book items--including jewelry, posters and music--as key to the store’s survival.

Like many specialty stores, Sisterhood has evolved into a cultural center as well as a store, hosting dances and lectures and maintaining a bulletin board for announcements of interest to women.

“We’re a kind of focal point in the women’s community,” Wallace said as she explained the anomalous success of her store. “Once people come in, even if they come in for something else, they tend to buy something.”

Not all specialized booksellers enjoy such steady patronage. Bernie Rath, executive director of the American Booksellers Assn., said the recession and the changing demographics of the profession have led to a doubling of the number of bookstore bankruptcies the last few years.

Within the Los Angeles area, which counted 412 bookstores five years ago, half a dozen have closed in the last year. The most recent victims include Pacific Books of West Los Angeles, Bread and Roses of Sherman Oaks and Children’s Book and Music Center of Santa Monica, which had been in business 40 years.

Independents are not the only ones suffering, however. Mail order book companies such as Book of the Month Club and the Literary Guild have also been hit hard, according to Rath.

The clubs, which thrived for years because they offered discount prices, are now competing with stores offering markdowns on even recently published bestsellers. Unlike independent bookstores, book clubs cannot create a protected niche as a specialty outlet, emphasize personal service and comfortable browsing atmospheres and adapt their selections to local buyers.

Of course, many larger chains--particularly superstores such as Bookstar and “Super Crown”--have tried to adopt some of the same tactics.