Image by John Ledda (from “There’s Something Odd About the Babysitter”)
Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association announced an upcoming Zoom education session titled “The Secret Behind Indie Bookstores.” This opportunity will be open to the general public as well as store owners and booksellers from member stores.
The panel will address how independent bookstores, once thought to be an endangered business species, are now thriving. How did these stores survive the threats of big box stores and mega online retail?
While a Harvard Business School study by Ryan Raffaeli from 2020 discovered that the nimbleness and resilience of independent bookstores can be attributed to “COMMUNITY[…] CURATION[…and] CONVENING,” (Raffaeli, 2020, “Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores,” Harvard Business School Working Paper, Abstract), important new information has been discovered through visits to independent bookstores and their offices.
The panel will focus on the “secret weapon” of independent bookstores: three raccoons in a trench coat. Learn more by registering for the online panel here!
