[Editors' Note: The following is the second part of a survey of recent
sidelines sales at bookstores around the country. The first part appeared in
our January 26 issue.]
Liz Steinzig, sidelines buyer for the Changing Hands bookstore in
Tempe, Ariz., where sidelines average 25%-30% of sales, had a lengthy
list of bestselling sidelines, including:
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Scarves and purses from Cocoon House, a Minneapolis, Minn., accessories company;
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Piggy banks, cow banks, dog and cat eyeglass holders by ceramics company 2 Kewt;
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Buddha Boards--a board that can be painted on with water, but once the
water dries, the paint goes away (from Buddha Board in Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada);
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Quotable cards and magnets;
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Mountain Meadows bath products;
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Honey House's Bee Bar Lotion, which is
"small and compact and sits by register," Steinzig said. "People pick
one up on their way out";
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Hues 'n Brews "Cattitude" tea pots.
The biggest new trend for Changing Hands is jewelry. Bracelets with
quotations on them made by World End Imports and cloth-covered and
crocheted beads from Benjamin International are two of the most popular
gem lines.
Steinzig predicted that peacock feathers and items in those color
families will be big this year. Naturals and beiges are also supposed
to be "in." Orange is no longer the new black. Dragonflies will
continue to be fly high. Butterflies and bugs will join them.
Revenge of the Beanies
Sidelines (in particular Ty Beanie Babies and audiobook rentals) have
historically been so strong at Books Plus in Mission, Kan., that when
Steve Wilson took over the store in November, books averaged just
20% of overall sales.
Wilson, who had previously owned a bookstore that suffered from a "very
bad location," has worked deliberately to reduce the role of sidelines
at the bookstore. He recently opened the store's second floor to the
public, devoting the space to hardcover books, adding 10,000 books to
the inventory. He also has another 9,000 books in storage on the third
floor and has a growing business online. The result is that book sales
are now in the 60%-63% range. (The sales breakdown for January: Ty
products: 17%; audiobook rentals: 12%; vintage comics: 3.5%; all other
non-book items: 6.7%; books: 60.8%.)
Wilson said that he is considering stocking video games, but his major
concern right now is doing whatever it takes "just to get more
customers in the door." He has increased the store's emphasis on PR and
advertising, including a free audiobook rental for customers on their
birthdays, coupons for customers who sign up for the new store
newsletter and a program for book trade-ins. (He also orders for some
local schools, which recently resulted in sales of 21 copies of
The
Kite Runner and 125 copies of
Lord of the Flies.) His efforts, he said, are resulting in "great word-of-mouth from customers."
Not All Fun and Games
Changing Hands's Steinzig noted several of the advantages of sidelines: "We always get a better margin on
sidelines than books. We can double it and add 10%. Almost everyone
buys something extra, a card, a little tschotschke. People buying just
a book are the exception to the rule."
For Valerie Koehler of Blue Willow Bookstore, Houston, Tex., managing
sidelines is in some ways more challenging than managing books. "We've
weeded out the things we don't do well with, and we've worked hard at
buying better," she said. "We're at the point now where we can take
advantage of some stock offers on sidelines. Waiving the freight cost
is a big thing. Puzzles and games tend to be very heavy." She noted
that she is striving to develop a better system for buying sidelines,
which is different from buying books. "You can say to a company, 'Send
me this many on September 1, this many of October 1, this many of
November 1.' You can always cancel an order, but if you haven't ordered
a hot item in advance, you won't get it for Christmas."
Like Books Plus, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops has worked to keep sidelines from
becoming too much of a good thing. Two years ago, sidelines were "taking
over the shelves," Catherine Wallerg said. The company made an
effort to reduce the inventory a bit, from about 18% of sales to
14%-15%. Another challenge Wallerg is working to resolve: which
sidelines to include on the store's Web site. "We don't want a list of
the sidelines we carry, because we don't always restock everything,"
she said. "We may just move onto the next thing. We've just done a
major Web site revision and are slowly deciding what to put back."
The bottom line for Changing Hands owner Gayle Shanks is that sidelines
play a prominent role in the mix of products in the store, averaging
25%-30% of sales, up to 35% during the holidays. "Any store that
doesn't include gifts in their mix is making a big mistake," she said.
"Gifts enhance the experience that people have when they walk into a
bookstore. They're interesting, smell good, look nice and can help
create a one-stop shopping experience, certainly during the holidays.
That's what we're trying to do--keep people buying everything we can
inside our stores."--Maria Heidkamp
