In honor of Schuler Books' 30th anniversary, MiBiz has a profile of the Michigan bookstore, founded by Bill and Cecile Fehsenfeld.
Over the years, Schuler has grown and adapted--and now has five locations. Looking back, Bill Fehsenfeld said, "I think we had six or seven years that were a piece of cake. After that, there's been change after change after change."
Those changes include the installation of an Espresso Book Machine, the creation of a publishing imprint, Chapbook Press, which has 50 titles, and a strong business helping "self-publishers who'd written their memoirs or had a novel manuscript tucked in a desk drawer." Schuler also added used books eight years ago, which now account for 10% of sales. Gift items, including puzzles, candles and Moleskine books, have grown to 15% of sales. E-book sales are 1% of revenues, but the Fehsenfelds want to expand that to 10%, in part by increasing "in-store marketing to alert customers to their digital presence."
Among possible future changes for Schuler: the Fehsenfelds may increase gift sales, build up self-publishing, and add beer, wine and a larger dinner menu for the stores' cafes.
Despite all the changes, for the past 30 years, the Fehsenfelds have remained book people with a " 'go big or go home' mindset to competitive challenges, all the while maintaining a small-company culture when it comes to employees and tending to customers," MiBiz wrote.
One example of the store's nurturing of employees. Although music sales overall have fallen, Schuler's Lansing store "sells new and used vinyl, as well as a healthy amount of CDs," all attributable to Chris Baranto, "an employee of the store who has built a considerable following among Lansing music lovers."
