BOOKSTORE
My next business to interview was an independent bookstore. They had been in bankrupt proceedings for about a year now, and the owners were hanging on. Once again, it was a couple owned business, but they were older, and as this was a second career for both, I think they were ready to throw in the towel. They had thought they could bring their nephew into the business, but he backed out. Then a long time customer was interested in the inventory but thought the location was the problem. This customer didn't regard the internet as a problem, but thought that the right location and the right marketing within the community would help to bring in enough customers to make it profitable. He would even keep the old owners on during the transition, but then he started crunching numbers. He found problems with the inventory. It seems that most of the books in the store were not really moving. The owners were ordering more to their taste than to the market's demand. While the books could be returned in most cases, the inventory would be reduced to almost nothing, and the net return from the credits after expenses would produce too little operating capital. Add the cost of a move and the numbers just didn't work.
admin :: Feb.13.2008 :: Blog ::