Sales Aren't Always Dependent On VolumeWhile major online bookstores may not be able to boast as many titles available as the largest units of the national chains, what the downtown Des Moines store has may be even better -- a large table near the checkout counter filled with custom orders for its faithful customers. An order for most books can be filled within one or two weeks by book major online store. Since the book business is more geared to the individual personality even in this mass marketing era, The Book Store may still have the right strategy for success in the 1980s. The store also tries to be competitive on pricing. Members of the Book-of-the-Month Club and Literary Guild get discounts on books, and the big chains regularly discount best sellers. The Book Store, since last year, has been selling current hardback fiction at 20 percent off the list price, and there are usually several sales tables in the back of the store. Gibson, a native of Des Moines, studied English and American history at one of the most literary of all U.S. universities -- the University of Virginia in Charlottesville -- and has had a lifelong interest in books. He spearheaded the successful drive for a bond issue in 1984 to computerize book listings in the Des Moines Public Library system. He figures a good library system is a must for a first-rate city, and he hopes that users of public libraries also become buyers of books. In earlier years, libraries in various Iowa communities also were regular customers of the store, he says. Gibson, 65, is the father of four sons and daughter Megan. He continues consulting work and also serves as manager of the Insurance Exchange Building, which houses another Des Moines bookstore -- Boone's Book & Bible. Carson, 34, studied art history at the University of Iowa and also spent three months in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she says she studied playing the bagpipe. Carson and her husband, Bill, who Younkers Tea Room and catering services, are expecting their second child this fall. For this reason, there is a quiet search going on for a new manager and possible part-owner. The Book Store has benefited from having faithful employees who clearly enjoy working in a bookstore -- Printha Cornelison, Ruth Howe and Helen Taylor. Assistant manager is Cynthia Nelson, a former social worker whose husband is employed by The Principal Financial Group. |