9th Street Bookstore prepares to shut doors
The bookstore owner cited high rent costs for closure.
Feb. 6, 2007
9th Street Bookstore's final chapter looms, as the business prepares to close by late March.
"I thought we had a good location there," said Jerry Cowley, vice president of Cowley Distributing, Inc., which owns the store. "It's just that sales didn't allow us to be paying the kind of rent (required)."
Although the landlord could have worked with him to keep his rent steady, Cowley said he did not believe he would have been able to negotiate lower rent.
"People are becoming more and more comfortable buying books and other commodities over the Internet," Cowley said.
Unlike 9th Street Bookstore, Acorn Books, located at 211 S. Ninth Street, sells used, rare and out-of-print books.
"To adjust to changing times, we added satellite stores in two local antique malls," Acorn owner Ken Green said. "And in addition to being a general readers' bookstore, we increased our used textbook buying and selling, and we now sell books online."
These steps have helped the store remain in business, Green said.
Acorn Books plans to expand to other Web sites including Amazon.com and Abe Books, Green said.
Cowley said competition from national chain bookstores also contributed to the decrease in profits. Some retailers, including The Home Depot, began carrying books specially selected for their customers, forcing bookstores to compete with them as well, Cowley said.
Although the market is competitive, "there is a good mix of locally owned and out-of-town-owned businesses," said Don Laird, president of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
9th Street Bookstore sells children's books and educational toys in addition to the usual literature, Cowley said.
"More options have changed the way children spend their leisure time," Cowley said. "I feel like less and less of it is going towards reading.
Cowley said his landlord was in contact with a potential tenant for the space. As of press time, Tom Atkins Investments, the owner of the building, was unavailable for comment.
Book and Toy, the chain that includes 9th Street Bookstore, has locations throughout Missouri, including Jefferson City, Rolla and Sedalia. None of these locations are expected to close.
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