This year's holiday open house at Burry Bookstore in Hartsville, S.C., , held annually the Thursday before Thanksgiving, was "phenomenal," said owner Emily Burry Phillips. "It was the best open house we have on record, both in terms of sales and customer count."
Along with promotional efforts by a
local business alliance, which ran television and radio advertising, Phillips
credits social media outreach by herself and other retailers on Twitter,
Facebook and blogs as a crucial factor in drawing the considerable crowd. Another
reason was the appearance of Bond Nickles (with Phillips, in photo), who "brought in a lot of
traffic," noted Phillips. A public information coordinator at the
University of South Carolina in Columbia and a Hartsville native, Nickles signed
copies of his children's book, A Brown
Thrasher, based on the true adventures of a baby bird brought home by a pet
cat and cared for by his family.
Burry Bookstore has been hosting an open house since at least 1986, the first year for which there are store records. Their celebration inspired the town's Downtown Christmas Open House, which has been taking place for about a decade. Bookselling is a family tradition for Phillips, whose father opened the store when she was eight. She grew up working there and purchased the business in 1994.
In six spacious storefront windows,
which face a main thoroughfare and are decked out with lighted snowflakes, faux
snow, a Santa figure, a nativity scene and other decorations, are different displays
featuring bestsellers, holiday-themed titles, children's books and calendars
like Ah, the Beach!.
Books highlighted in the store's weekly e-mail newsletter are popular gift selections, such as George W. Bush's Decision Points, the top seasonal seller. The former commander-in-chief's memoir is followed by Carolina Christmas: Archibald Rutledge's Enduring Holiday Stories, edited by Jim Casada, a collection of tales by the late nature writer and South Carolina's first poet laureate.
Prominent placement has rung up sales for the Melinda Long's picture book The 12 Days of Christmas in South Carolina, which is displayed near the cash wrap, and so has word of mouth. After a school library media specialist saw the book in the store's newsletter, she in turn e-mailed colleagues and told them where they could purchase it. Phillips works closely with three school districts, providing books to teachers and media specialists and often giving workshops and presentations. "This is a huge supplement to our normal business," Phillips said.
Phillips's handsells this season include Patti Callahan Henry's The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story and Karen White's On Folly Beach and Falling Home. The two novelists, both of whom appeared at the store this fall, have garnered serious fans among the store's staff.
Last January, Phillips introduced a monthly program offering a 25% discount on select titles that are ordered in advance and paid for by the last day of the previous month. Books are chosen based on information about favorite authors provided by subscribers when they sign up for the store's newsletter. There are typically 10-15 orders per month, with a spike in October sales (for November releases) as customers got a head start on holiday shopping.
Launched in late June, the members-only Super Shopper Club has an annual fee ($25 for individuals, $40 for families) that entitles customers to 25% off New York Times and Christian Booksellers Association hardcover bestsellers, 20% off other hardcovers and 10% off everything else, excluding items that are already marked down. "I thought about it long and hard before I did it," Phillips said. "What we want to do is build loyalty. We're willing to offer a discount to customers who will be loyal to us and come to us first." So far 250 people have signed up for the club.
A tradition of sorts at Burry
Bookstore is a substantial purchase by a bighearted customer who selects a different
children's Christmas book each year for the more than 30 recipients on her gift
list. This year the store provided copies of Lisa Tawn Bergren's God Gave Us Christmas, along with enough
paper, ribbon and decorative gold seals to wrap all the books.
Overall holidays sales at Burry Bookstore are down from last year, although Phillips is anticipating a flurry of last-minute shoppers. If the store happens to be out of a particular book a customer wants this week, they'll supply a gift card with the desired title written on it and a note stating that the recipient can pick it up the week after Christmas. The gift card can be paired with unique store-branded merchandise like a 22 oz. candy-filled stein or a t-shirt bearing the slogan, "We are not a chain. We are a link in our community."--Shannon McKenna Schmidt