Locations That Are Not Prime

Chapter 5 Downsizing a Bookstore (4)

Rent is not determined solely by size. It goes without saying that locations generally considered good also come with higher rent. Ground floor over upper floors or basements. Main street over back street. As close to the station as possible. It is natural to feel that way.

As mentioned earlier, bookstore locations were once analyzed and decided based on factors like the sales floor area of the trade area and accessibility. However, for a small bookstore started by an individual, such analysis no longer makes sense. Bookstores have long ceased to be prosperous businesses in prime locations where you try to attract as many people of all ages and genders as possible.

Therefore, where you open your shop is closely tied to what kind of shop you want to create. For example, "Seikosha" is a property in a back alley. "B&B Bookstore" in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo, which I manage, started on the second floor of a multi-tenant building, and after moving, it is now operating in the basement. "Title Bookstore" is located more than a 10-minute walk from Ogikubo Station. None of these can be called prime locations, but people come to them not only from the neighborhood but also from far away, aiming for those specific destinations.

If you are in a prime location and make a shop that is easy for anyone to enter, you will get all kinds of customers. You will be faced with all sorts of needs, and if you try to meet them all, the result may be a shop with little personality. By choosing a location that is intentionally a step removed, where only people with a clear intention will come, you can gently select your customers and focus on creating a comfortable space for them. It takes time, but customers with similar sensibilities will increase.

Thinking about it that way, it could even be said that it is better to intentionally avoid high-rent prime locations. While the example is extreme, it is easy to understand if you imagine a hideaway-style bar. It is self-evident that it is easier to create dense communication that way.

That said, if the location is hard to find, you cannot expect passing trade, so you must make the existence of the shop known. For that, you need the ability to disseminate information. For example, if you not only introduce new books on social media but also frequently hold events and exhibitions, that information becomes unique to the shop, so it has more power to spread. Customers who come from afar aiming for the shop also first learn about it through such information. You make an effort to gradually turn those people into regulars.

*Reprinted from "A Reader for Future Bookstores" (NHK Publishing) P191-P193