After experiencing the best year in its history in 2007, Copperfield's Books is having mixed results at its eight stores in California's Napa and Sonoma counties. "The last few months have been challenging," said CEO Tom Montan. "There was a huge housing boom here for many years, and the bottom has pretty much fallen out. We're feeling the impact of that for sure."
Sales at the company's online operation and its two stores that sell only used books have grown. In contrast, sales at some of the six retail locations that sell new books and merchandise have slipped even as traffic has increased. "People have been in shopping, but they aren't necessarily buying," said Montan. "We saw it first in our more metro area stores, while in the smaller stores we were feeling it less and later."
The company's response? "We're expanding," Montan said. The 1,800-sq.-ft. Healdsburg outpost "in the heart of wine country"--Copperfield's smallest store--will jump to 4,700 square feet by mid-June. Right after that, Copperfield's will expand the storefront in Santa Rosa by 2,000 square feet.
In part to improve margins, Copperfield's has shifted also merchandise selection. "We are certainly a tried and true bookseller, but we're also trying to bring in other things that will hedge those margins for us," Montan said. Some 15% of the merchandise in the six general interest stores is now sidelines--such as soaps and bath salts, tote bags, note cards and wine-themed gift items--while another 10% is remainders. Customers seem pleased with the change. "For us it's not just about margins, it's about marketing as well," Montan said. "The feedback I've been getting is that people love to shop in our stores because there are a variety of things they can look for, and it becomes a full shopping experience for them."
One thing book buyers are not cutting back on is hardcover fiction; sales are even with the first few months of last year, noted Copperfield's buyer Ty Wilson. There has been a decrease in sales of real estate titles, while more customers are asking for books on finance and budgeting like Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money by Robert T. Kiyosaki. Along with the juggernauts The Last Lecture and A New Earth, other notable titles for Copperfield's are David Cay Johnston's Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill) and Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope and Dreams from My Father.
Despite the current economic climate, Montan sees a bright future for the business. "We can't ignore the news, which has been nothing but doom and gloom. That does tend to pale people's perspectives," he said. "But we're in a resilient community, and books are here to stay. I don't have any fear of that at all."--Shannon McKenna Schmidt