I live in Denver. The Tattered Cover bookstore is a beloved institution here. The Tattered Cover is one of the largest independent bookstores in the US. Some say that it was the model for the browser friendly Barnes and Noble and Border’s book store chains...
The Tattered Cover is an example of what a savvy entrepreneur can accomplish when she puts her mind to it. The original Tattered Cover opened in an urban neighborhood called Cherry Creek North in 1971. In 1974, Joyce Meskis the current owner, purchased the 950 square foot, two employee shop. Business was good. The Tattered Cover expanded into adjoining retail space seven times between 1975 and 1983. In January of 1983, Ms. Meskis opened a second store, one block from the original store. The “Old Store” housed bargain books and sidelines. The new location housed general retail operations.
In 1986, the Tattered Cover moved again. This time the location was a four story building that had once been a department store. The Tattered Cover had four floors of books – the basement and first three floors. The fourth floor housed a restaurant, called “The Fourth Story”. In 1994, the Tatter Cover opened a second retail location in Lower Downtown Denver, a hip neighborhood known for its converted lofts and Coors Field – home of the Colorado Rockies. In 1996, MS. Meskis opened a store in Highlands Ranch, a large and growing Denver suburb.
In the meantime, Cherry Creek North was undergoing a major metamorphosis. The area was a combination of small 1950s style bungalows and four unit garden apartments. Most of the residents of this part of town were renters. In the 1990s, developers began buying up the bungalows and garden apartments and building upscale town houses. Baby boomers, many of them empty nesters who had lived in the area when they were young, began buying these new townhouses. Soon Cherry Creek North became one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Denver.
The area has always had a commercial district along First, Second and Third Avenues. The Tattered Cover was one of the businesses that anchored the Cherry Creek North commercial district. Not surprisingly, as property values went up, retail space became more expensive.
The Tattered Cover Cherry Creek lease expired this month. This weekend, the Tattered Cover closed its flagship Cherry Creek Store, and moved to a new location in an area that is currently undergoing its own metamorphosis. The Cherry Creek store closed on Saturday evening, and the new store opened this morning. This was no small task. Several hundred thousand books had to be boxed, moved, unboxed and shelved.
In addition to the staff, over 300 volunteers showed up to assist with the move. Think about that one – 300 people showed up to help a local entrepreneur move her store. That’s customer loyalty!
What’s the secret? Simple. It’s customer service. The Tattered Cover stocks books in a wide variety of genres. It has books titles in stock that you have to order at the large discount retailers. More important, over the years, the Tattered Cover has developed a reputation for its knowledgeable and friendly staff. The people who work there actually read and enjoy books. No matter what section -- business, fiction, computers, sports, religion -- the people who work there have read many of the books they sell, and they can discuss them intelligently with customers.
Contrast this with an experience I had at a Border’s store some years ago. Mitch Albom’s book “The Five People You Meet In Heaven” had just been published. At the time, he was a very hot author “Tuesday’s With Morrie” had been on the best seller list for a couple of years. I went into this Borders – it was in the Newark Airport – and said “do you have the new Mitch Albom book?” The clerk looked at me and said “we don’t sell albums, only cds”. I said, “Mitch Albom is a writer. He has a new book out.” She said, “I’ve told you, we don’t sell albums, only cds”. So much for knowledgeable sales people.
Bookselling is a tough business. It’s especially difficult for independent book sellers who don’t have the volume to discount like Barnes and Noble and Borders. Just this week, I read an article about a book seller in the resort town of Vail, CO who was asking for and accepting donations from the local community so that he could keep his small book store open. The Tattered Cover doesn’t discount. It has felt the pinch of competition from the big retailers. Yet, it continues to grow and flourish. One of the reasons for its success is its focus on the customer.
I’m planning on heading over to the new store today – to check it out and buy the new Michael Connelly book. It’s the least I can do to support my favorite bookstore in the world. Afterall I didn’t volunteer to move books this weekend.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website, www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense life and career advice.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
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