By The Book | Fledgling Fitchburg stores lures customers from corporate competition, the Internet
Photo/Charles Sternaimolo
WELL READ: Sam Montgomery, co-owner of The Rabbit Hole in Fitchburg, an independent bookstore.
Succeeding as an independent bookstore owner may have everything to do with seeing your business not as competition to corporate megastores like Barnes & Noble so much as an alternative for a different kind of customer, or for the same customer who is looking for a different kind of experience.
The Rabbit Hole is a thriving bookstore that is situated unassumingly along Main Street in Fitchburg and true to its name, patrons find themselves falling head over heels into the pit of comfort at its core. The independently owned store has slowly become a place that booklovers return to again and again, looking for what they just can’t find in the Barnes & Nobles and Borders of the world — a piece of humanity and culture alongside a free cup of coffee on a worn couch. And of course, they come to peruse a wide selection of free-trade trinkets, music, posters, vinyl albums, and books both used and new.
Sam Montgomery is co-owner of The Rabbit Hole, along with a handful of friends and investors, many of whom put in a day’s work at the store once a week, and some of whom prefer to remain behind the scenes. Revenues, he said, are hard to assess, the store only recently having celebrated its 2nd anniversary. But for a business that opened its doors in the midst of a serious economic downturn, “so far so good,” he says, and the future looks quite promising.
Carving Out A Niche
Competition isn’t as fierce as one would think. According to Meg Z. Smith, the membership and marketing officer for the American Booksellers Association (ABA), independent book stores have a huge edge over their chain counterparts: the ability to move quickly through the decision-making process and to remain quick and flexible as they experiment with new business models — from opening in-store cafés to holding community events in their space.
“Some stores are being very clever,” Smith said. “And what we’re finding with our members is that yes, it’s difficult out there, but they’re doing okay.”
Clever, indeed. In order to stay current and relevant, Montgomery has evolved The Rabbit Hole into a meeting spot for musicians, artists and performers — the upstairs loft might find itself moonlighting as a stage for a modern dance performance one night and a venue for a high-voltage battle of the bands the next.
“We just push the shelves back and open up the floor and let people do their thing,” he said, adding that the overflow of people from the upstairs crowd can often be found browsing the shelves on the first floor. “We pretty much welcome any type of event that fits in with what our demographic might want. It doesn’t cost us anything — people just want a place to gather and perform.”
Big-Box Competition
As for other nearby superstores, Montgomery said they are significantly more expensive — especially since the majority of the inventory at The Rabbit Hole consists of used books in excellent condition. And since he can and does ship books anywhere in the country for about the same amount as online booksellers, he doesn’t really see a problem there — though Smith maintains that many ABA members see online stores like Amazon.com as their biggest competition. And what about e-books like the Kindle, the Nook or the iPad?
“The customers you lose to the eBooks are what we call the super readers,” Montgomery said. “They are the people who read three or four books a week — they would come into a store like this buy stacks and stacks.” For super readers, handheld e-books save time, money and hassle. For everyone else, he claims, the novelty of the device wears off and they will soon become drawn once again to the feel of a good book in their hands.
“I see [The Rabbit Hole] as complementary to a store like Barnes & Noble,” said local author Mark C. Bodanza, whose debut book, “A Game that Forged Rivals,” explores the long history of local high school football battles between Leominster and Fitchburg. Bodanza has held book-signing events at both stores and has observed that they are really not competing with each other. “It’s almost like a coffeehouse setting, which is not what Barnes & Noble is trying to be,” Bodanza said.
But if you ask Montgomery, he’ll tell you that the secret of success at The Rabbit Hole is in its customer relations.
“You have to be knowledgeable in all areas of literature — world history, pop culture, you name it,” Montgomery said. Employees need to be more than just a fixture at the register, he added, likening the counter at the store to the reference desk at the library. “There is no room for mediocre customer service right now. If you don’t try to be extraordinary every single day, you’re gone.”
The Demographics
And who exactly is cruising the shelves by day at The Rabbit Hole? From college students to moms and babies to retirees, the people who shop there are simply people who love bookstores and crave something more intimate than elaborate. With not only a spacious and cozy area set aside for children’s literature but also a large selection of classics and trade books for special interest reading, The Rabbit Hole caters to everyone and anyone who cares to stop in.
Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong and her colleagues at City Hall have stood firmly behind The Rabbit Hole and in fact have promoted it as a gateway business that would open the doors for more like-minded establishments.
“For the past decade, the primary businesses on Main Street were government and bank buildings,” said Wong. “With The Rabbit Hole as a major destination place for shopping and for events, we are seeing more college students downtown than we ever have before.” According to Wong, this is a major win for the city — which is working toward developing a reputation as a college town.
Another draw for customers is the ample selection of vinyl records and vintage music collections at the store. According to Montgomery, people travel from all over Massachusetts and the region to access the wealth of retro goodness.
At its very core, a good bookstore is much more than a revenue-producing machine. It’s a safe haven, a gentle space, a cove of simplicity and knowledge. And when the proprietor knows this? Well, it’s a recipe for something magical.
“We try to maximize what we have and keep improving every day,” Montgomery said. “And it isn’t always about just making money. It’s more than that.”
Amanda Roberge is a freelance writer based in Leominster.
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