Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 27, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 7 Taking the Sting Out of Graphic Signage Design & Production We can bee your business' creative and affordable solution for quality promotional graphics and signage that last. After all, life's sweeter when things go your way. Contact Us Today: BeeReadyGraphics.com 7 Coppage Drive, Worcester, MA / 774.317.3450 Hardback trade 25% Education 22% Downloaded audio 18% Trade (consumer) 17% Paperback trade 16% Religious press 11% Board books 10% Mass market 8% Physical audio 8% Professional (business, medical, law, technical, scientific) 6% All book sales 18% Increased book sales Books of all types of formats have been selling at a higher rate in 2021. Book type Source: Association of American Publishers Increase for first 6 months of 2021 vs. 2020 of collaborating with the online retailer. While local shops in Central Massa- chusetts and beyond were tasked with surmounting these pandemic-induced hurdles, so far the independent book- store market in the region has come out strongly on the other side. "I did think at the early pandemic that we would see stores close in New England, and indeed we did, but you can count them on one hand and still have fingers le over," Ineson said. Despite challenges brought on by on- line competitors, nevermind a pandemic, the industry appears to be headed into a new chapter. "e overall trend over the last 20 years, yes, the number of independent bookstores in New England has gone down sharply," Ineson said. "But the overall trend over the last eight years is that the number of independent stores has increased every year." Membership at NEIBA, she said, has consistently increased for nearly a decade. at's in line with larger industry trends across the country. A 2020 working paper from Harvard Business School professor Ryan Raffa- elli, pulling on data from the American Booksellers Association, indicated a 49% growth in independent bookstores between 2009 and 2018, increasing from 1,651 to 2,470. He credited the resurgence to what he called the 3C's: community, curation, and convening, finding independent bookstore owners wooed customers back from Amazon and major chains by underscoring a connection to com- munity values, curating personalized inventory, and casting themselves as intellectual hubs. at's a major shi from the late 1990s when the ABA reported a 43% drop in the number of independent bookstores in the latter half of the decade, directly following the launch of Amazon.com, per Raffaelli's report. Viable industry at kind of data is what provided the final push for Jo and Huck Trues- dell, owners of TidePool Bookshop in Worcester to open for online sales in April 2020 and then to in-person sales at the end of that summer. e duo first broached the idea in 2017, aer they retired and realized the city had no independent bookstores, aside from Annie's Book Stop, which is a franchise corporation operating locations around New England. Between their first discussions and the time it came to open shop, two independent bookstores opened in their market: Bedlam Book Cafe, as well as Root and Press. ey debated, for a time, whether moving forward was the right idea. "We didn't want to open a bookstore. We wanted to open a bookstore in Worcester," Truesdell, a retired longtime Worcester kindergarten teacher said. Ultimately, industry trends and exam- ples in cities like Providence, which has a healthy independent bookstore ecosys- tem, persuaded them to keep going. "It makes sense, and we're seeing it play out here at TidePool," Truesdell said. From their shop, a built-out store in an old mill building, with custom-made shelves and warm lighting, the Truesdells are optimistic they made the right choice, as customers trickle in, oen hearing about TidePool through word of mouth. ey've yet to hold an official grand opening because of the coronavirus pan- demic, but they're finding that the local community is welcoming them, noting Millennials new to the city have had a particular presence in their store. ey are eagerly looking forward to building out their events schedules as they begin integrating in-person events into their calendars. "We think it'll be a successful busi- ness," Truesdell said. The Silver Unicorn in Acton grew its customer base over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. W PHOTO/COURTESY OF THE SILVER UNICORN

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