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Association. ABA CEO Oren Teicher, who is retiring at the end of 2019 after nearly
30 years at the organization, will be on hand at nearly every regional to discuss the
ABA’s plans for a reworked IBD. “It’s a real opportunity to bring it to a new level in
2020, and we want to get maximum advantage out of it for our booksellers,” Teicher
says. The ABA, which will host booths at each regional, is also happy to field questions
about ongoing priorities for the organization, including the promised (and highly
anticipated) release of Batch, Winter Institute, and the ongoing effort to promote
preorders. (One question they won’t answer yet is who will succeed Teicher, though
an announcement may come at any time.)Perennial Issues
Though independent bookstores generally have been experiencing improved business
in the past year, Teicher is quick to admit that many bookstores continue to face sig-
nificant challenges. “The ABA’s ABACUS numbers reflect that about one-third of
stores are struggling,” he says. “Some are not able to pay the owner, some are losing
money, some are unable to service their loans. But there is no doubt that the overall
climate of indie bookselling in 2019 is healthier than a decade ago.” The ABA has
signed up 52 member companies so far this year, bringing the total member companies
to 1,887, which are spread across 2,524 locations.
At a regional level, NEIBA’s Ineson speaks for nearly all the regional directors when
she says, “The primary issues remain the costs of doing business, occupancy, and min-
imum wage.” Sessions across the country in fall 2019 will look at these core questions
and concerns. While many towns are clamoring to attract a bookstore to open in their
community, most stores remain vulnerable to rising demands, such as health-care costs
and payroll taxes. What’s more, NCIBA’s Crosby says, is most bookstores now function
as de facto arts centers that host many events during a week. “Yet they lack donors,
tax-exempt status, pledge drives, or even direct funding,” he says. “Bookstores are a
meeting place, a safe space, and a place to find like-minded people as well as engage in
healthy debate with differing points of view. Bookstores do all this with a fixed margin.
We continue messaging that supporting a bookstore is more than buying an occasional
book, and that the communities, landlords, and even local and state government need
to step in with incentivization that genuinely supports indie business.” ■The 2018 Mountains & Plains show exhibit area at the Renaissance Hotel in the Stapleton area of
Denverp h o t ob y
c l a i r ek i r c h