Colorado Booksellers Struggling Through 'Unprecedented' Winter

Winter may only be half over, but booksellers in the Denver and Boulder, Colorado, regions have probably had enough snow and arctic temperatures for 10 winters. Since the week before Christmas, the area has been hit with nearly weekly snowstorms, interspersed with brutally cold temperatures, making it one of the toughest winters in recent memory for both residents and retailers.

"Generally, we get one or two snowstorms and then warmer weather after each," Cathy Langer of Denver's Tattered Cover reported. "But this winter has been unprecedented." Ironically, when BTW talked with booksellers on Tuesday, temperatures in the area had soared into the 50s, but another snowstorm was due to hit the area on Friday.

Most booksellers in Denver and Boulder said that this winter's extreme weather had hurt sales, and, according to CBS 4 Denver, sales tax revenue in the city of Denver dropped seven percent in December due to the winter storms and cold spell.

Weekly blizzards and subzero temperatures have kept streets icy and snow covered in spots, parking meters and spaces continue to get blanketed with snow, and deliveries have become somewhat of an adventure.

"From our standpoint, the winter has been bad," Langer said. "We had a blizzard before Christmas and have had snow every week since." All three Tattered Cover locations had to close early on the Wednesday before Christmas and were closed all day on Thursday.

"I'm cautiously optimistic, hoping people are reading more because they're trapped inside," added Langer. "But this one of the worst winters we've had in recent memory. It took a bite out of Christmas sales."

In Boulder, Boulder Book Store had been doing fairly well before the blizzard hit on December 20, owner David Bolduc reported. But with the continuing storms, "sales have decreased by single digits," he said. "Before the storms, [sales] were going the other way -- up."

To ensure that Boulder Book Store never closed during the storms, Bolduc used his four-wheel drive vehicle to pick up employees and bring them home again. "At one point, we were the only store open downtown," he said. Despite Bolduc's efforts, the storms have kept people off the streets, and "the store never became busy.... This is the first couple of days that have been reasonable, where you don't have to bundle up."

This winter has also brought "bad wind storms," said Julie Leonard of Troubadour Books in Boulder, who said simply, "There have just been days when people needed to stay home." The bad weather has also hindered deliveries. "Some books were supposed to be here before Christmas but ended up coming in about two weeks late. They were held up at the sorting facilities," Leonard explained. Additionally, on a number of days in the past five weeks, UPS has not been able to reach the store. "We've had to call the city to ask them to clear the road," she said.

At present, Troubadour's sales are currently above last year's over the same period, "but this is only our second winter," Leonard said. "Last winter, we were only just opened."

"In a funny way, [the weather] almost helps us," said Suzi Fischer of The Bookies in Denver, which, in addition to books, sells a plethora of sidelines, including games, toys, women's handbags, and jewelry. The winter storm that hit during the week prior to Christmas closed the store, located in a strip mall off Colorado Boulevard, for two-and-a-half days. When The Bookies reopened, customers "swamped" the store, Fischer explained. "They knew they could come here, and they could find something for everyone. And they could get it gift wrapped."

To counter the weather's negative effect on sales, several booksellers have launched promotional efforts to entice customers into their stores.

A cafe adjourns Boulder Book Store, Bolduc said, so the store's been offering customers a coupon for a free cup of coffee. "We sent out an e-mail to people -- if you make it in ask for a free coupon for a cup of coffee.... The main thing is to make sure people always know we are open."

Troubadour's Leonard is also offering customers a coupon for free coffee at the cafe next door, she said. "Our latest ad offer [which came out this past Monday] includes a coupon for a free cup of coffee -- hopefully that sounds warm," she said. "We want to remind people what a good combination that is!" The store's window display now features what she described as "warm-looking" books, such as Summertime and A Sunburned Country.

Tattered Cover's Heather Duncan explained that, while the store's different locations didn't do anything special in terms of sales, "in the last three to four week we've been ramping up some [new marketing strategies] we'd been planning. Due to the weather, they're happening more quickly. We feel the need for more sales more urgently."

Some of the store's new strategies include an improved digital presence, including a page on MySpace.com, and making the e-newsletter more sales-oriented. --David Grogan