Contact: Your name
Bookstore name
Telephone number

MIGHTY ERUDITEE CELEBRATES TENTH ANNIVERSARY IN LUCKY

Local Independent Still Thriving Despite Competition from Chains

January 7, 2000 (Lucky, IN) -- When MegaBooks opened across the street from Mighty Eruditee last January, many Lucky residents thought it was only a matter of time before their beloved local bookstore went the way of other mom-and-pop businesses along Prospect Street. One year later a much different picture has emerged, however, as Mighty Eruditee hosts a special celebration today marking ten years of prosperity in Lucky. In honor of the store's anniversary, Bill Hoosier, a local resident, Mighty Erudite supporter and critically acclaimed author, will be on hand at the store from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm today to sign copies of his new book, Lucky Town.

Over the past decade, independently owned Mighty Erudite has weathered not only the economic downturn of the early 1990s but also the invasion of the national chain stores that has altered the character of many towns throughout central Indiana. When Mighty Erudite first opened its doors in 1988, for example, Prospect Street was filled with many locally owned, independent businesses, including another bookstore, Books n' Stuff, specializing in books for children. Since that time, however, Books n' Stuff and other local shops have disappeared while the chains have established a growing foothold up and down the commercial center of town.

Not Mighty Erudite, however. After MegaBooks moved in across the street, lifetime Lucky resident Mary Merchant, founder of Mighty Erudite, decided to increase the number of books in her inventory and start reading lists for her customers as well as reading groups in the store. In addition, Merchant increased thes store's long-standing involvement with literacy programs in local elementary schools.

"Customers kept telling us that Mighty Erudite was too important to this town to go away, so we all put our heads together on how to compete more effectively with the chains," said Merchant. "Chain stores have their place, but we have ours, too. I believe that local people will always want a local bookstore that reflects the individual flavor and tastes of their community."

After a few years working for one of the large publishing houses in New York, Merchant says that she went into the bookselling business because of her passion for reading and recommending books to people. "Over the past ten years I've come to know personally many of the local residents of Lucky, and still nothing excites me more than hand-selling them a good book that I know they will love."

The term "hand-selling" refers to the bookselling tradition of developing personalized relationships with customers, understanding their interests and reading habits, and matching them with the right books. Once the norm, this type of personalized bookselling is waning as chain stores such as MegaBooks continue to drive independent bookshops like Mighty Erudite from the retail bookselling landscape. In 1991, for example, independent, locally owned bookstores made up a healthy 32% of the adult book retailing market. Today the independents represent only 17%.

"While the chain stores have certainly made economic survival more difficult, the book buyers in Lucky seem to be saying that there's room in this town for both of us. That's great news, because I love selling books and will continue as long as my customers will let me," said Merchant.

Mighty Erudite, founded by Mary Merchant, opened in 1988 and is located at 1445 Prospect Street. The store has a particularly large selection of books dealing with midwestern history and culture. Mighty Erudite is a member of the American Booksellers Association, a trade organization representing approximately 3,500 local, independently owned bookstores nationwide.

###