The state of bookstores throughout Melbourne
FROM the old Cole’s Book Arcade to being named a UNESCO City of Literature, Melbourne has a proud history when it comes to selling books.
Leader
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FROM the old Cole’s Book Arcade to being named a UNESCO City of Literature, from independent gems to large chain stores, Melbourne has a proud history when it comes to selling books.
But in recent months Australia’s largest bookseller Dymocks has closed two Melbourne stores at Southland and Fountain Gate.
“Despite all best efforts, the business results were such that these two stores were no longer viable,” managing director Steve Cox said.
This follows the closure of the Collins Place Dymocks earlier this year, attributed to an end-of-lease decision.
Mr Cox said there were no plans for further Dymocks closures in Melbourne and that they expected to open a new store before Christmas.
“Customers are purchasing books and globally there is a resurgence in physical book sales,” he said.
Australian Booksellers Association chief executive officer Joel Becker said that since the REDGroup Retail collapse took with it Borders and Angus & Robertson stores in 2011, the number of bookshops in Melbourne had been fairly stable.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK SHOP IN MELBOURNE? TELL US BELOW
“Given all the doom and gloom you hear, it really isn’t that bad,” Mr Becker said.
“The ones that have closed down have been for a number of reasons, not purely financial.”
“What a lot of people don’t realise is that the Dymocks you have now, a lot of them are independent franchises — there are people who have mortgaged their homes for these stores.”
The most common challenges facing bricks and mortar booksellers at the moment was rising rents, e-books, and the ongoing competition with cheap online booksellers.
“E-books are certainly a significant presence although they haven’t quite taken off here as much as they have in the UK and the US. In the US, roughly 30 per cent of the books bought are e-books whereas in Australia it’s more like 10 per cent,” Mr Becker said.
Independent bookshops polled by Leader reported that, despite facing ongoing challenges such as online booksellers and electronic readers, things were getting better.
Frankston’s Robinsons Bookshop has opened in new locations.
A shop which weathered the global financial crisis and the administration of its then-parent company REDGroup Retail in 2011, is Reader’s Feast in the CBD.
“It was an enormously stressful time. But I’m a vocational bookseller, I couldn’t sell anything else,” owner Mary Dalmau said.
“I don’t see the world without bookshops in the future.”
It reopened in December 2011 after relocating from Bourke St to Georges in Collins St as a fully independent bookstore owned by Ms Dalmau, but Reader’s Feast actually started out as Melbourne’s first Dymocks franchise in 1991.
“There is this perception that every chain store is soulless and that all independent bookstores are warm and fuzzy, but that’s not the case,” Ms Dalmau — who has worked with every major bookseller bar Collins — said.
“It comes down to the individual bookseller and their attitudes towards the shop and the customers.”
Ms Dalmau said that centralised book events such as authors’ talks held by the Wheeler Centre were “sucking the oxygen” out of smaller events across Melbourne.
“I don’t think it should be centred in one spot, it’s made it harder to sustain events across bookshops and libraries,” Ms Dalmau said.
Wheeler Centre director Michael Williams said that they did not have contract with any one bookshop, and there was a place for all kinds of booksellers in Melbourne.
“I don’t think it’s useful to think of it as a competitive space. They are all different plants in the same ecosystem. The great thing is that there is a multitude of ways in which you can buy books,” Mr Williams said.
Ms Dalmau and Mr Becker said the newly-formed City of Literature Office should develop a one-stop shop website promoting literary events, such as poetry readings and author appearances, happening at libraries and bookshops across Victoria.
“We’d like to see a broader focus than just on the CBD,” Mr Becker said. “There is so much happening around Victoria.”
“I don’t see the world without bookshops in the future.” — Reader’s Feast owner Mary Dalmau
City of Literature Office director David Ryding said the role of the office was still being developed, but that a one-stop website for literary events was something they could consider.
“Anything that promotes or supports literature in Melbourne,” Mr Ryding said.
“One thing that we want to do is to engage the people who come to Melbourne for one thing — be it the football, the Grand Prix or the theatre — and link them with the wealth of bookshops we have here.”
A TALE OF FOUR BOOKSTORES
ROBINSONS RETAINS AN AIR OF MYSTERY
WHEN it comes to Robinsons Bookshop, sometimes you really can’t judge a book by its cover.
One of the ways it liked to engage with readers was through its “Blind Date with a Book,” owner Susanne Horman said.
The staff pick the best eight new releases, obscure the cover and describe the contents in three words, prompting customers to buy the book “blind”.
“People want a bit of excitement and theatre about books, it’s almost an emotional experience choosing one,” Ms Horman said.
“There are people who really love that thrill of the unknown.”
Robinsons opened in Frankston in 1963 and has expanded in recent years.
In 2012, Robinsons opened new stores in Greensborough and Chadstone. It opened a store at Emporium this year, and plans are afoot for another at Highpoint.
“We weren’t sure if another community outside Frankston would adopt us or if we would struggle,” Ms Horman, the owner since 2007, said.
“Opening in Greensborough was an experiment but it paid off. We thought that unless we were growing, we’d go backwards.”
She said that it faced the same challenges as many small businesses — increasing wages, penalty rates and rent.
END OF AN ERA FOR CAMBERWELL TRADERS
CAMBERWELL Books is closing after 25 years.
But while it had been a struggle for owners Mick and Irene Stone to keep up with the costs of stock, rent and insurance, this isn’t a completely unhappy ending.
“It’s something that was in the back of our minds for some time now. We’re getting on and want to retire,” Mr Stone said. “It’s time to enjoy the grandkids.”
The Hawthorn East second-hand and antiquarian bookshop opened on Australia Day in 1989.
“I’ve met a lot of nice people over the years,” Mr Stone said.
Once the shop closes, they will continue selling stock online under the name Camberwell Books.
SHOP WEATHERS FINANCIAL CRISIS STORM
A LOCAL institution for 16 years, Fairfield Books still felt the pinch after the global financial crisis.
“At the time I think there was the perfect storm of ebooks, online shopping and the GFC,” owner Heather Dyer said.
“Consumer confidence was down, a lot of businesses were affected.”
The shop itself is now half the size it once was.
Ms Dyer said cheap online shopping was still a challenge it faced.
It chooses not to sell books online, instead focusing on what it does best — customer service and book knowledge.
“People are coming back to books,” Ms Dyer said.
“But we’re also lucky in that we’ve got a bit of a village feel here, people are becoming aware of the need to support local shops.”
FOR THE LOVE OF READING
BOOK and Paper co-owner Sue Martin is passionate about instilling a love of reading in future generations.
The teacher-turned-bookstore owner feels blessed to do what she loves every day.
“There is no retail like a bookshop because people feel connected to books. You can dream, you can travel. It can transform your life,” Ms Martin said.
“Every book that comes into the shop, we have chosen.”
Book and Paper opened in 2009, but recently moved into Williamstown’s main strip.
Ms Martin and co-owner Wenche Osland also have connections with kindergartens and schools in the area, helping them to expand their libraries.
“We’re passionate about getting kids reading and learning,” Ms Martin said.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK SHOP IN MELBOURNE? TELL US BELOW
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