Making The Best Of Online Bookstore OfferingsThe amazon book border online store store with a seven-day-a-week schedule, involved "a lot of agonizing research," says Pearce. Thomas agrees. "We needed the certainty of long-term growth. And given conditions on 'The Ave,' it wasn't clear we'd get it here," he says in reference to the ongoing battle with drugs and crime on University Way Northeast. The amazon book border online store puts it in competition with Tower Books and the richly financed chain stores of the world. But Pearce says, "The Bellevue store has never been below double-digit sales growth since we opened." "We grow as the UW grows," Cross maintains, acknowledging that the north- and south-end sites are small and expensive. Still, the U Book Store is determined to make a go of its branch-campus expansions. Aside from the main campus, only the Bellevue store will be open Sundays. Adding Sunday hours from noon to 5 p.m. not only serves and benefits UW faculty, staff and students--the retailer's primary constituents, according to its mission statement--it also will help all the other retailers on "The Ave." "The role of the U Book Store in maintaining our community's economic health cannot be overstated," wrote Betty Spieth, executive director of the University District Chamber of Commerce in a recent community newspaper editorial. Nor should it go unrecognized." Now that Nordstrom Place Two has left the district, there's little doubt that the U Book Store is the "anchor tenant" on The Ave. Books represent about 60 percent of U Book Store's sales--divided equally between textbooks and general books --and the balance is made up of gifts, electronics, apparel and school, art and office supplies. Returning a rebate in the form of a patronage refund to UW faculty, staff and students is one hallmark of the store's cooperative structure, which is similar to the "granddaddy" of college bookstores, the Harvard Co-op. Next on the U Book Store's agenda: a remodeling job for its main store, primarily back-of-the-house space. "One of our objectives is to maximize our selling area and convert some non-selling space to selling space," says Cross of the 90,000-square-foot flagship building. Last year the store completed expansion and remodeling of its lower-level art, office and student supply department. It's an old-fashioned success story. They offer service. They know their customers. They stock nothing more high-tech than bookmarks or calendars. In an era dominated by the electronic media, bookstores for book lovers are not only surviving, they're thriving like never before. |