Lambda Rising, the gay and lesbian bookstore company that has stores in
Washington, D.C., Baltimore Md., and Rehoboth Beach, Del., is closing
its Norfolk, Va., store at the end of the month, the Virginian-Pilot
reported.
The 11-year-old store had an unexplained 25% drop in sales in last year and lost $30,000. Owner Deacon Maccubbin said that sales at Lambda Rising's three other stores are solid.
Anthony Williams, the Norfolk store's manager, told the paper, "When faced with the higher rates that would come with signing a new five-year lease at the end of this month, with the decline in sales, it was just impossible to do it anymore."
Norfolk bookselling is going through some turmoil. Earlier this year five-year-old Broad Street Books closed, and Follett and Barnes & Noble College have taken over management from one another of bookstores at area colleges and are building large stores that aim to appeal to the general public (Shelf Awareness, October 10, 2006). A session at the ABA's Day of Education at BEA focused on ongoing efforts made by Sarah Pishko, owner of Prince Books, to respond to the changes.
The 11-year-old store had an unexplained 25% drop in sales in last year and lost $30,000. Owner Deacon Maccubbin said that sales at Lambda Rising's three other stores are solid.
Anthony Williams, the Norfolk store's manager, told the paper, "When faced with the higher rates that would come with signing a new five-year lease at the end of this month, with the decline in sales, it was just impossible to do it anymore."
Norfolk bookselling is going through some turmoil. Earlier this year five-year-old Broad Street Books closed, and Follett and Barnes & Noble College have taken over management from one another of bookstores at area colleges and are building large stores that aim to appeal to the general public (Shelf Awareness, October 10, 2006). A session at the ABA's Day of Education at BEA focused on ongoing efforts made by Sarah Pishko, owner of Prince Books, to respond to the changes.