Green Apple Books, San Francisco, Calif., is opening a second store, called Green Apple Books on the Park, in the Inner Sunset neighborhood next to Golden Gate Park, about a mile and a half from its current location. The new store will be about 2,500 square feet, on the main floor of a building that currently houses Le Video, which stocks some 130,000 movies, kind of "the Powell's of video stores," said Green Apple co-owner Pete Mulvihill. Le Video will consolidate on the second floor of the building, and when Green Apple opens, the stores will "cohabit" the building. Le Video customers will have to enter through Green Apple--and both retailers hope to draw people who will shop at the other store.
Le Video needs several months to move everything into its second floor. Green Apple will get access to the space about July 15 and hopes to open August 1.
Mulvihill noted that Green Apple once had a second location a block from the Green Apple Books on the Park location. The store closed about 15 years ago, when Mulvihill and his co-owners, Kevin Hunsanger and Kevin Ryan, were buying Green Apple. "It was a viable store," Mulvihill said. But because the landlord would give only a three-year lease, they decided not to renew. "This feels like a return for us," he added.
Green Apple Books on the Park will differ in several ways from the main store, which is three times as large. For one, the new store's inventory will be a mix of 75% new and 25% used books, while the current store is 60% used and 40% new. (The new store won't stock CDs and DVDs.) Mulvihill said that the heavier emphasis on new titles is partly because it's easier to control inventory. Because of its size, the new store will have to be more selective than the current store and will tweak inventory as it learns what the neighborhood wants. It's a "lively neighborhood," Mulvihill said, and includes the Park, the Botanical Garden, the de Young Museum, the UCSF Medical Center and numerous cafes and restaurants. The area attracts many tourists.
One of the biggest challenges, Mulvihill said, is creating a store that is different from the current store. "Our building here is part of the charm," he said, something that can't be replicated. But "we will take the best of what we do"--everything from shelf talkers to highlighting interesting books. Mulvihill added that he knows for sure one difference: the new store "will be cleaner!"
Stephen Sparks, buyer and new book manager at Green Apple, will manage the new store, and Green Apple will hire "another handful" of people and is looking in particular for an experienced kids' bookseller.
Like many video stores, Le Video has had financial difficulties and had recently talked publicly about the possibility of closing. Mulvihill said the landlord had wanted to find a business that was "simpatico" with Le Video.
Mulvihill said that Green Apple had considered several second locations in previous years, but this seemed right and happened very quickly. "When I told the Kevins [his co-owners] about it, they said, 'Yes, let's do it!' " Besides the location and 10-year lease, a key factor was that "e-book sales have leveled off, which makes it seem that we've finally hit a balance point," he said. "So we feel better about signing a 10-year lease than we would have three or four years ago." Another factor: the new store "cuts a mile off my commute," Mulvihill said.
Green Apple Books on the Park will be located at 1231 9th Ave., San Francisco, Calif. 94122. --John Mutter