In an unusual project done in partnership with local bookseller the Bookmark, Penguin Random House has opened a 1,000-square-foot bookstore in Puerto Rico that stocks more than 1,000 of the house's titles in Spanish and English, Digital Reader reported. The store's selection includes children's and YA titles, coloring books and graphic novels. The new Bookmark Boutique is in Carolina, a suburb of San Juan.
Juan Peña, v-p of sales and marketing, JR Blue Label Management, a book wholesaler and parent company of the Bookmark, noted that readers in the U.S. territory had fewer bookstores following the closure of Borders in 2011, saying, "We will increase the supply of books in the Puerto Rican market, which still has a healthy demand for a community of readers."
PRH senior v-p, director of international sales and marketing Cyrus Kheradi commented: "This is the first time we are working so robustly on a store like this, in a mall setting or any other setting at retail."
The store is being run by the Bookmark, and during the first three months it is being promoted by PRH with a PR campaign, an extensive author event schedule (including appearances by Claudia Gray and Lauren Kate) and "innovative technology designed to help readers discover new books and authors."
Publishers running and owning bookstores has a history that goes back to the beginning of publishing. In the U.S., only a few decades ago, such major houses as Scribner, Doubleday, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich and McGraw-Hill had high-profile stores in New York City and elsewhere. And just this month, Milkweed Editions, Minneapolis, Minn., discussed plans to open a bookstore.
