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The next chapter for bookstores is a happy one

[Inside Type Books in Toronto. / Lisa Kannakko]
[Inside Type Books in Toronto. / Lisa Kannakko]

With the buds starting to bloom on the trees, hipsters are riding their fixed-gear bicycles over to Trinity Bellwoods Park in downtown Toronto, then perhaps popping into White Squirrel Coffee Shop for a flat white, before heading a few doors over to do a bit of browsing and buying at Type Books.

But in 2016 why would anyone purchase an actual paper copy of a book at a bookstore when they can buy an ebook online for a fraction of the price?

For the personal touch and connection to community, explains Derek McCormack via phone from Type Books, where he has worked for more than seven years.

We could all make our own coffee at home with the press of a button via a coffee-pod machine for a fraction of the cost, yet White Squirrel often has long line-ups morning, noon and night. Like coffee shops, bookstores also offer a premium and personal service that some Canadians are still willing to pay for. Small shops such as Type Books and big-box stores like Indigo have survived the onslaught of Internet booksellers, ebook readers and economic downturns to become the authors of their own destinies.

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“I thought eight years ago or so that digital might crush us,” admits McCormack, who started out working at Book City in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood in the early nineties. That iconic bookstore closed in 2014, but luckily for McCormack other small independent booksellers, including his current employer, continue to succeed.

Even Amazon (which was widely blamed for the fall of many bookstores in the 1990s) is now opening actual bookstores. The world’s largest online retailer made headlines late last year when it opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in an upscale Seattle mall. There have been rumours flying for a while that the company is set to open a whopping 400 stores, mainly in malls in the U.S. An Amazon spokesperson turned down a request for an interview, but did say there are plans to open a second Amazon Books in a San Diego, Calif., mall later this year.

ALSO READ: Is Amazon planning to open 400 more brick-and-mortar bookstores?

The foray into brick-and-mortar stores doesn’t mean Amazon (or anyone else) thinks selling print books is a licence to print money.

“I think the stores say: ‘Come in and try us out.’ A street presence is still one of the most effective forms of advertising,” said retail analyst Ed Strapagiel in a phone interview with Yahoo Finance Canada.

Battling some formidable foes

On this side of the border, brick-and-mortar bookstores can’t compete against digital books or online sellers like Amazon when it comes to price. This has meant some creative rewriting of business plans. Back when founder Heather Reisman opened her first Indigo Books & Music Inc. store in Burlington, Ont. in 1997, the idea of someone buying a book on a smartphone on their way to work and getting it delivered to their house within the week would have seemed like something out of a science-fiction novel to many Canadians.

Over the years Reisman, the “CEO and Chief Book-lover” of Indigo, has savvily fought back against some formidable foes. Indigo Books & Music Inc. reported 12.9 per cent revenue growth in its last quarter, while sales at its online store grew by 17.9 per cent. Prices of books at indigo.ca tend to be much lower than in their stores and hew very closely to Amazon.ca’s price points. The chain now bills itself as “Canada's largest book, gift and specialty toy retailer” and has added specialty items, such as American Girl doll boutiques, inside six stores across Canada.

[Despite the pressure from online retailers, Indigo continues to offer unique experiences readers can't get at home, like guest authors. / Canadian Press]

Many pundits were openly questioning whether Indigo was headed towards a tragic ending after it closed a handful of superstores in 2014, including the World’s Biggest Bookstore in downtown Toronto. While the closures continue, with one superstore and four smaller-format stores closing during the last quarter, there’s a plot twist that turns the tale from tragedy to triumph. The company has enjoyed nine consecutive quarters of growth. While the Queensway location in Toronto recently closed, the chain will soon open a new superstore right across the street at the recently renovated upscale Sherway Gardens mall. The chain has also expanded stores in Calgary and Edmonton this year.

In an email interview with Yahoo Finance Canada Reisman attributed the ability to still draw crowds to stores, from babies up to grandparents, to the “commitment to listen to and respond to our customers and their evolving needs.” The CEO seems confident about the current direction and when asked if there could be further expansions or new stores she said via email: “We are currently looking at a number of new opportunities. Stay tuned.”

Print is not dead yet

Another twist many did not see coming was the lure of the printed word on actual paper. Just a few years ago e-readers were seen by many as putting the final nail in the coffin of printed books and the stores that sell them. But the popularity of ebooks has waned. During the first six months of 2015 trade ebook sales in the U.S. fell by 10.3 per cent, compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, the overall print book market in Canada remained relatively steady last year, with a 0.8 per cent increase in units sold (52.6 million) and a 1.6 per increase in value ($983.4 million) over the last year, according to a press release from BookNet Canada. Non-fiction print book unit sales actually rose by 5.5 per cent – largely driven by the popularity of adult colouring books, such as Johanna Basford’s Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure & Colouring Book.

ALSO READ: Students overwhelmingly prefer paper books to ebooks, study shows

Many bookstores also continue to colour outside the lines to stay in the black. In Richmond, B.C., Village Books & Coffee House sells coffee and books under one roof. The McNally Robinson chain have restaurant/bakeries in their Winnipeg and Saskatoon locations. Many stores, including the enchanting Mable’s Fables Bookstore in midtown Toronto, have a resident cat to delight children and their parents during story time. On top of the usual book launches and author readings, Type Books hosts book clubs, a literacy club for local youth and has become locally famous for its whimsical window displays.

After what McCormack called a “slow start” back in 2006, Type Books has gotten a fairy-tale ending. It opened a second store in Toronto’s Forest Hill neighbourhood and will celebrate its 10-year anniversary on April 30, coinciding with Authors for Indies Day. McCormack, for one, sees many happier chapters for booksellers for years to come.