Jane Streeter : Small is innovative

Independent bookshop the Bookcase, in Lowdham, Nottinghamshire, and its proprietor Jane Streeter have a reputation for enterprise. Not content to grow sales by 10% in the past year, Streeter has now set up a publishing imprint, Bookcase Editions, with the aim of bringing books of local interest back into print.

Streeter has been one of the driving forces behind the Booksellers Association's initiative--"Playing to Local Strengths"--to develop a model for small booksellers to produce local interest titles (The Bookseller, 13th August). The package has been put together in conjunction with on-demand printer Lightning Source, which will be producing books for Bookcase Editions.

The local publishing idea was conceived when Streeter found herself in conversation with Lightning Source UK m.d. David Taylor at a World Book Day party. "We had a discussion about booksellers becoming micro-publishers," Streeter recalls. "When we later talked about bringing an Alan Sillitoe title back into print, it all made complete sense."

The first title from Bookcase Editions was, in fact, Sillitoe's out-of-print travel book Leading the Blind, which was launched at Lowdham's fifth annual book festival in June. The rights having reverted to the author, Bookcase Editions was able to acquire them, and the Bookcase bookshop can now order copies from Lightning Source when it needs them. Fifty copies were sold at the Lowdham Festival, each signed and numbered by the author. Bookcase Editions is planning to market the title to travel bookshops.

Moving into publishing has been a steep learning curve for Streeter and her team of four booksellers. "There was a lot of work involved, including making sense of the rights issues for the text and the jacket, and applying for ISBNs, which is all new to me. But it was worth every minute of our time."

Print-on-demand is starting to make an impact in the UK. Lightning Source is among suppliers that can offer good quality books in low print runs, and access to a sales network comprising Amazon, Bertrams, Gardners and Ingram. "For an author it makes sense to be involved in print-on-demand. It is keeping their books alive," Streeter says.

Bookcase Editions will publish up to 10 titles a year. Its immediate plans are to produce a series of local history-group publications. "After the first book it seems very straightforward. But we don't want to become an agent for all the local people who have written books and want to be published." However, Streeter argues that the flexibility of print-on-demand makes it "ideal for independents. It has such potential yet it is still something that people don't know much about."

The Bookcase was established by Streeter in 1996 at 27 Main Street, Lowdham. Her background was in bookselling in London, at Hammicks Legal Bookshop and then Parks in the 1980s. In 1998, she opened a second site in Lowdham, at 50 Main Street, from which to run the school supply business.

School supply

At that time, school supply accounted for nearly 75% of the company's turnover. Streeter has deliberately downsized this to around 60% of the business, closing the original 200 sq ft shop in 2000 and moving the general bookselling operation into the 650 sq ft school supply shop. The whole business is now run from the larger site, at number 50.

The Bookcase has around 50 school accounts, but over the past three years has reduced the time and overheads dedicated to that side of the business in order to focus on traditional counter sales.

"The bigger shop offered more possibilities for the retail side," Streeter says. "It is harder to make margin on school supply. You are giving away at least 10% to schools. We decided that we needed a balance--to handle enough school supply to make money, but not so much as to take away from our bookselling efforts. That balance is now right. And the retail side is more satisfying on a personal level."

The strategy has proved successful. Sales were up by 28% over Christmas 2003 compared to the previous Christmas, as a result of new display tables front of store. The strong Christmas enabled the Bookcase to invest in more stock, a new carpet, a plush sofa, coloured units, a new till and a chip and pin system. The history, travel and local interest sections have been expanded, as have food and drink ranges. "It was a new opportunity to look at what the customers wanted."

The shop stocks about 3,000 titles and achieved sales of around £230,000 (to year-end August 2003). The shop made its first profit in 2001, after having paid back its loan.

The display tables trialled last Christmas have become a permanent fixture, presently offering a range of summer reading titles supported by THE's hanging posters and catalogue. Titles include several from the new THE summer reading Browse catalogue--The Da Vinci Code and Lucia, Lucia--and the "Richard&Judy" Summer Read titles, with up to £2 off.

Affluent situation

The Bookcase is situated in an affluent area. Its customer base comprises parents with young children, academics and retired people. "We don't stock popular celebrity books like Gazza or anything on the Royal Family. Our customers want quality fiction."

Alexander McCall Smith's The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time have been bestsellers for the Bookcase, while Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen was a good seller in its first week on the summer reading display. Television tie-ins such as The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Saturday Kitchen Cookbook also perform well.

Children's first read sections, fiction and sport are important to Lowdham's families, and audiobooks are also popular. The Bookcase is currently experimenting with a new display of adult audiobooks to increase sales, with titles scattered through the book bays rather than in one location.

The Bookcase uses Gardners' Gardlink Epos system, and relies on Gardners and THE for next-day deliveries. "Festival and events stock is mainly from Gardners, but our THE supply is increasing." The shop has a limited number of dumpbins, which it shares out between THE and Gardners.

The Bookcase also has accounts with several educational publishers. "Being on the BA's school supply group, I can build stronger links with the academic publishers," Streeter says.

Extracurricular activities

Streeter expects sales to plateau in coming years, because of the shop's village location. She is looking to extracurricular activities, such as publishing, to act as "a cushion" for the bookshop. As it is, the Bookcase generates 8% of sales from non-book product, which includes pens, stickers, cards and gifts. According to Streeter: "Nowhere else in the village has a really good range of cards."

In 1999, the Bookcase linked up with Nottinghamshire County Council to develop the Lowdham Book Festival. The festival has since managed to attract a number of big names, among them journalist Kate Adie, as well as providing a launchpad for local authors and quirky books such as David Belbin's The eBay Book. The Bookcase's involvement in the festival makes for an intense week of events in June. It is hoping to bring some big children's authors to a children's festival next year.

The Bookcase is also aiming to have more author events throughout the year. But, says Streeter, independent booksellers outside London are still not high on the list of priorities for publishers organising such events. She feels strongly that publicity departments should look further: "Authors want the personal relationships with customers that they can only get from a village independent. We are lucky to have a rich local writing scene generating authors like Robert Macfarlane."

Much of the Bookcase's success is down to the pattern of its trading year. Streeter explains: "Schools get their budgets in April and are quiet for a while as they work it all out. Then orders kick in from July to October. Then we have Christmas and January sales. The festival comes in the summer. So, we have a nice constant pattern for the shop and the school supply side of the business."

Getting stuck in

The bookshop is proactive in the book trade. Streeter is a member of the BA Council and of the BA's school supply group; she took part in the BA's Christmas Books selection panel this year, and was on the steering group for this year's British Book Awards; and she is involved in the BA Conference working group.

She is also on the steering group of the BA's new small business forum for booksellers, set up to create a new regional network following the demise of the BA branches. The forum will organise regional events for small booksellers and enable retailers to exchange best practice.

The forum will be launched at wholesaler THE's offices in Newcastle-under-Lyme in September, when Streeter will share with participants her thoughts on how to create a successful independent business.

Creating trust

Jane Streeter does not believe that publishers and booksellers work well together; she feels that there is "a lot of mistrust" in the trade. She claims that publishers are too quick to jump on the bandwagon of a successful book. "Eats, Shoots&Leaves and Schott's were surprise successes, so why do publishers need to do loads of similar books? Nobody wants a rehash of the same thing. They should listen to the people selling books who actually listen to the people buying the books."

However, the formation of the BA/PA liaison group will, she thinks, go some way to improving relationships between booksellers and publishers. "The best thing about group discussions is that everyone has to look at the practicalities of launch dates or prices coming off books for everyone involved--the large and small publishers, the wholesalers, the chains and the independents.

"There was a feel-good atmosphere at the BA Conference this year, and I think that is a sign that trust is opening up."

fiona.fraser@bookseller.co.ukJane Streeter's top tips for independents