Once upon a time when we wanted something to read, we visited Mr Brown at the local dusty little bookstore and picked up a novel.
And then along came some giants. Giant sprawling multi-storied stores filled with thousands upon thousands of books. More titles than we could imagine existed when we were at Mr Brown’s. So we began to go to MegaBooks instead, because the chances of us finding something perfect to read was much more likely when we could browse thousands of books rather than a few hundred, even if we did like Mr Brown.
And soon MegaBooks were everywhere! MegaBooks was our new local store. And all was good.
Until MegaBooks went under.
And then along came some giants. Giant sprawling multi-storied stores filled with thousands upon thousands of books. More titles than we could imagine existed when we were at Mr Brown’s. So we began to go to MegaBooks instead, because the chances of us finding something perfect to read was much more likely when we could browse thousands of books rather than a few hundred, even if we did like Mr Brown.
And soon MegaBooks were everywhere! MegaBooks was our new local store. And all was good.
Until MegaBooks went under.
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| Reading goes on. Photo by Rodrigo Galindez from flickr. |
Why? Why should a bookstore with a book to please everyone’s tastes disappear? People certainly haven’t stopped reading. The problem we can rationalise then is the model through which mega-bookstores like recent casualty Borders sell their product.
Initially they had a very successful strategy, creating a business that trumped small, one-man retailers with an abundance of choice and stock with which they could not compete. The problem? Dwarfed by stores like Amazon with millions of titles to their names, stores like Borders are no longer ‘giants’ even though they may take up a lot of floor space.
A similar story for may be told about other ‘megastores’ that for years reigned as the big boys of retail but now look around with confusion at a new world, were they are the small players against higher stocked, lower priced online retailers. Our premier bricks-and-mortar electronics store for example may not like to hear that it is a small scale retailer, but in today’s global marketplace, that is the case.
For such businesses trading using a giant’s stratagems is consequently outdated and ineffective. No longer can the megastores collect business on the claim they have the greatest selection of stock and the greatest prices. Unfortunately all too often businesses fall back on strategies that once were successful rather than reassessing their position in the marketplace continually, and then adapting their strategies accordingly.
So is the store dead? I don’t think so, no. A change has happened: some stores have been unprepared. But as one business dies, another forms to take its place.
Large book retailers are failing but small boutique bookstores – something like the old stores the megastores replaced – are beginning to rise in popularity. Holding a tightly edited selection of titles they encourage a bohemian, Vienna cafe vibe, with author talks, book signings and a communal exchange-of-ideas feel. The cultivation of personal relationship with the book seller is back in vogue.
Such stores don’t claim to have everything, or the lowest prices. They trade on the idea that they have raked through the masses of products on the market to offer a beautiful selection of interesting works. People are okay with the fact they might be able to find something stocked on their shelves cheaper from an overseas website – they don’t mind because they are buying not only the book, but an experience.
On the whole it is becoming clear that physical stores need to re-create themselves as a ‘destinations’. No more can they rely on being a place customers are forced to visit in order to purchase the items they retail. The message sounding loud to once-upon-a-time giants: adapt or die.
Review and renew your business strategy constantly. The world is constantly changing and your strategy needs to change with it. Rigid strategies are liable to snap.
Initially they had a very successful strategy, creating a business that trumped small, one-man retailers with an abundance of choice and stock with which they could not compete. The problem? Dwarfed by stores like Amazon with millions of titles to their names, stores like Borders are no longer ‘giants’ even though they may take up a lot of floor space.
A similar story for may be told about other ‘megastores’ that for years reigned as the big boys of retail but now look around with confusion at a new world, were they are the small players against higher stocked, lower priced online retailers. Our premier bricks-and-mortar electronics store for example may not like to hear that it is a small scale retailer, but in today’s global marketplace, that is the case.
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| Angus and Robertson booksellers, Castlereagh St Sydney, 1946 |
So is the store dead? I don’t think so, no. A change has happened: some stores have been unprepared. But as one business dies, another forms to take its place.
Large book retailers are failing but small boutique bookstores – something like the old stores the megastores replaced – are beginning to rise in popularity. Holding a tightly edited selection of titles they encourage a bohemian, Vienna cafe vibe, with author talks, book signings and a communal exchange-of-ideas feel. The cultivation of personal relationship with the book seller is back in vogue.
Such stores don’t claim to have everything, or the lowest prices. They trade on the idea that they have raked through the masses of products on the market to offer a beautiful selection of interesting works. People are okay with the fact they might be able to find something stocked on their shelves cheaper from an overseas website – they don’t mind because they are buying not only the book, but an experience.
On the whole it is becoming clear that physical stores need to re-create themselves as a ‘destinations’. No more can they rely on being a place customers are forced to visit in order to purchase the items they retail. The message sounding loud to once-upon-a-time giants: adapt or die.
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