business & professional Beyond Borders Oak Park's tiny Book Beat outlasts worldwide chain. Cary Loren at the Book Beat Jackie Headapohl Managing Editor L ast Friday, Borders began clearing out merchandise with a liquidation sale at its remaining stores, which all will close by the end of September. The Ann Arbor-based bookseller, launched 40 years ago by brothers Tom and Louis Border and now facing bankruptcy, was unable to secure a buyer. The liquidation means that 10,700 employees — includ- ing 466 workers at its 26 Michigan loca- tions — will be out of jobs this fall. "We were all working hard toward a different outcome, but the headwinds we have been facing for quite some time, including the rapidly changing book industry, e-Reader revolution and turbu- lent economy, have brought us to where we are now:' Borders Group President Mike Edwards said in a statement. "We gave it everything we had, but ultimately we lost:' Oak Park's Book Beat, 26010 Greenfield, has faced the same headwinds as Borders. The independent bookstore, which opened its doors in 1982, had the added challenge of competing with the behe- moth bookseller, whose dominance of the market put many other small bookstores out of business. Through it all, Book Beat has continued to serve its loyal customers. The JN sat down with owner Cary Loren to get his take on Borders' closing. JN: How have you managed to stay in business while big-box retailers like Borders and Barnes & Noble put many other independents out of business? Loren: We specialized. Our niche is in children's books and art books, which allows us to go in-depth in those areas. My wife, Colleen Kammer, reads thou- sands of children's books every year. She's our 'secret weapon: Parents, teachers and educators come to her for advice. Second, we give a lot of personal service to our customers. We know many of them by first name. We also work to bring many authors into the community. We hold spe- cial events. We have a book club. We also have loyal customers, but other local small bookstores that didn't make it had loyal customers as well. It hasn't been easy for us either, especially in this economy. We were able to get some con- cessions from our landlord. We're working outside the store to aggressively grow our business. JN: How is Book Beat adjusting to the e-book revolution, which seemed to be a factor in the failure of Borders? Loren: We're not really thinking about it. There is certainly a place for e-books — they're convenient when traveling, for instance. However, I am of the opinion that people need physical libraries. There's something special about physical books. Studies have shown that children's IQs go up just by having books in their home. I don't see physical books disappearing. If so, that would be a sad day. That said, the book industry is in transition, and the future of publishing is foggy, but we plan to still be here for people. JN: Where do you think Borders went wrong? Loren: I think their first mistake came 20 years ago when they sold the business to Kmart. What does Kmart know about books? They were hiring executives and marketing professionals — not necessarily book lovers. Here we love books, and that guides our choices. Borders' slide began — even as they were expanding and adding coffee shops — when that sale was made. Ultimately, a whole series of choices led to its downfall, especially allowing inves- tors to run the company. One month after Borders declared bankruptcy in February, it asked the court to approve an executive bonus plan. That shows what kind of culture they had. Had they really wanted to save the business, they would have made different choices. Want it ALL Saab Sales Event If you want If you want luxury, fun, get a BMW. get a Mercedes. 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