Mr. Paperback, which has 10 stores in central and northern Maine, is closing by the end of April, and its sister company, Magazines Inc., is being sold, according to the Bangor Daily News. Mr. Paperback has been in business for more than 50 years and has stores in Augusta, Bangor, Belfast, Caribou, Dover-Foxcroft, Ellsworth, Farmington, Presque Isle, Skowhegan and Waterville.Magazines Inc. distributes magazines and newspapers in Maine and is being bought by Hudson-RPM Distributors, Worcester, Mass.
"Business is not great," Mr. Paperback general manager Jim McCree told the paper. "It seemed like it might be a good time to get out." He attributed lower sales to "gas prices and a changing industry--Amazon, the Internet, Kindle--people don't need the printed materials as much as we used to."
Mr. Paperback and Magazines Inc. are owned by Penny Robichaud, Ralph Foss and Pamela Williams, all of whom are children of founders John and Evelyn Foss. Another son, Robert Foss, is retired.