Can you Franchise the Used Book Business?

Shane Gottwals
www.gottwalsbooks.com

I didn’t think about franchising until a friend of mine brought up the concept.  Think about it.  If you have a trade system, an acquisitions system, an employee requirement system, a pricing system, a fixture system, a sorting system, an advertising system, a bathroom cleaning schedule system (OK… this one’s a stretch), etc., why should you NOT open the doors for franchising?
Layout 1My wife and I have been preparing our newest store (you can see our labor at www.gottwalsbooks.com), and I must say that it is far easier the second time around.  We know where things should go, how they should be arranged, etc.  We also know WHAT WORKS for our area, and I promise that that’s the biggest thing.  We, of course, have concerns about the future success of a new store in a new town.  However, being prepared eases so much of the concern so that none of the concern has turned into worry (and, yes, I think they are two different things).
I do not plan on ever franchising.  I simply do not want to give the branded name of my store to someone else.  We have prayed pretty hard for the success that we’ve had, and the labor has not been light.  However, I do think that owning a used bookstore is a fine art.  There are secrets to honing the craft, and a business owner has every right to be rewarded for the things he has learned and employed.
I never realized how hard it must be to mimic another store’s success.  We have tried using the practices of other stores, yet there is a certain mix of functions, advertising, pricing, etc. that will work together.  Knowing a company’s trade policy, pricing, and sorting system (things you can figure out just by studying a store for its face value) does not guarantee that you can make it work nearly as well or nearly as quickly.  This is where the sense in franchising comes.  I know that someone cannot offer Gottwals Books’s value until they have our business model.  They cannot understand completely what we do.  Hence, why not franchise?
I’ve written many times before about the spirit of the used bookseller.  I think that franchising doesn’t fit the goal of the average bookshop owner.  That’s not our vibe.  I do like the idea of chain ownership, but I don’t like the idea of conceding control.  Even as we are opening our second store, my wife and I will not be the distant “managers.”  We will be the owners that you can see and smell (but not touch).
I would like to know what everyone thinks about this idea.  Is it a good idea?  Do you know of anyone who has franchised their store?  I know that there are some 4, 5, 6-store chains out there, but I don’t think I’ve seen any franchises.
I am always thinking about bigger and better things.  Some may say I’m a dreamer…
Speaking of John Lennon, England has some fantastic shops, huh?  Has anyone read 84, Charing Cross Road?

4 thoughts on “Can you Franchise the Used Book Business?”

  1. “Even as we are opening our second store, my wife and I will not be the distant “managers.” We will be the owners that you can see and smell (but not touch).”

    That line made me laugh and I think that one of the things that people appreciate about you Shane is that is when they see and smell (in real life as well as online) they find you have a sense of humor. I know I appreciate it and have seen other examples in posts you have submitted to Book Shop Blog.

    That said…

    I don’t think franchising a used book store would work at all. Too many variables and chances are that real quick, after starting it, someone would jump on board that would have “Get Rich Quick” dreams that would ruin the plan and destroy the franchise name.

    However I do think writing a book on setting up a ‘used bookstore’ or ‘used bookstore chain’ might be profitable. That is until some of your current crop of customers read it and decided to open their own stores down the street…

    This is a big world and there is room for a lot more used bookstores but I really don’t think there is room for a “successful Used Bookstore franchise”.

    Back in the early 80’s I knew of a franchised Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors Ice Cream store that was visited by the owner once a month. Without the hands on control demanded by a business of this sort the ice cream flew out the door on cones up to 4 times the size that profit demanded. A single scoop was HUGE if the customer was a pretty girl. If the customer was a good friend of the employee that same HUGE cone would be free. I think this same principle would apply to a franchise.

    (smiley face here)

  2. I’m not sure if franchising my store would be an option either. Control being the issue. Although before opening my store I may have seriously considered buying a franchise. An entity with all the procedures in place would have appealed to my time issue not to mention the “name” advertising. I spent countless hours doing everything from figuring out a trading policy to stocking my store with extras to filing my first sales tax return and deciding which advertising would be effective for my area. I’m only three months in to my business and have seen mild growth which has given me opportunity to learn and tweak all aspects.

    I congratulate you on opening your second store! I have plans for a second as well, as soon as I can afford to hire someone to stay at my first! 😉 Best wishes to you!

  3. My first job after leaving school was in a bookshop. I loved it and stayed there for about 5 years before going to university to study Eng. Lit.
    I also am a keen franchise watcher.
    I’ve never seen a franchised used book store, but they do exist. One Japanes franchise is called “Book Off” and has over 800 outlets in Japan. There is at least one outlet in the USA, it is on East 41th street between 5th Avenue and Madison Street.
    I assume that is their US pilot store with which to test the concept in America.
    Used book selling must have plenty of unique aspects to make franchising a challenge, but I wonder if is is more difficult than general second hand stores? There a plenty of franchised versions of those around.
    I understand that Book Off have a very simple buying and selling and discount formula ahich makes it easy for their young and perhaps inexperienced employees to handle these tranactions quickly and unsupervised.
    Worth a look, I think.

    • We have owned 5 used bookstores. The first was a franchise called Book Rack and it had over 300 stores. Started in the 60’s (we got ours in 1995) and the fee was $6000. For that you got excellent training for 2 weeks and an assortment of 6000 books. The monthly franchise fee was $75. Don’t know if they are still in business.

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