With the talk of financial institutions closing left and right over the last few weeks, the news of a D.C. institution closing might have gotten lost in the fray. After 36 years of being Washington's oldest independent bookstore - Olsson Books and Records closed on Tuesday. They succumbed to the financial pressure facing many business, especially independent bookstore.
On the bookstore's website Olsson's general manager Stephen Wallace-Haines stated: "In the end, all the roads towards reorganization led to this dead end: we did not have the money required to pay for product in advance, to collect reserves to buy for Christmas, and satisfy the demands of rent and operational costs. We were losing money just by staying open."
Are there bailouts for book stores?
1 comment:
This is horrible!!! I loved Olsson's. But then I also loved Lammas, and shopped at Karibu from time to time. I can't even name all of the bookstores that have closed, and I miss fiercely the used bookstores where you could poke around for hours and come out with amazing finds on the cheap.
Is this what you Barnes & Noble diehards wanted? Was saving at Amazon worth losing the atmosphere, expertise, and eclectic selections of stores like Olsson's?
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