Serving the Hispanic/Latino Book Market

Perspectives of an independent, English language bookseller

By Dennis O. Evans

Bookseller Dennis O. Evans has worked intermittently at Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore in Salt Lake City for the past 10 years, and he has been the store's general manager since July 2002. Here, he discusses how Sam Weller's created a marketing and business strategy to profit from Salt Lake's burgeoning Hispanic/Latino market and how other booksellers can do the same in their communities.

Critical to the survival of any business, independent bookstore or otherwise, is the ability to recognize significant changes in the business environment and to adapt to those changes.

Some years ago, the management team at Sam Weller's Bookstore looked to identify the most important change or trend in our market demographics. The answer for us in Salt Lake City was -- as I think it would be for booksellers in many parts of the country -- the sheer magnitude and growing influence of the Hispanic/Latino community.

We were surprised to find that the Hispanic/Latino population in Salt Lake is now growing at a faster rate than in all but two other cities in the country. Almost 10 percent of the Utah population is now from this demographic subset, and, since 25 percent of new arrivals in Utah are Spanish speaking, the 138 percent growth that Utah's Hispanic/Latino population experienced over the last decade is expected to continue well into the future.

These facts are unique to Salt Lake and Utah only in specifics. The reality is that in communities large and small, located in border states and mid-continent, east and west, from Miami-Dade County to King County, Seattle, the Spanish-speaking and -reading populations are increasing at a dizzying rate.

Independent booksellers who now serve largely or exclusively the English reader need to ask if they want to change their store's operation to take advantage of this growing Hispanic/Latino market. If so, they then must develop a business plan for targeting and serving this demographic.

Toward that end, here are some observations on our experiences as an independent, English-language bookstore that moved into the Spanish market in the spring of 2004.

Making the decision

At Sam Weller's, our judgment was that the magnitude and undoubted potential growth of the Hispanic/Latino market sector were so great that to ignore it would be bad business. Beyond the purely pecuniary considerations, however, were the issues that derive from the bookstore mission to be a purveyor of ideas, an advocate for literacy and reading, and a force for improving the community, in general.

Perhaps the most important consideration for us was the emphasis of the Utah State Board of Education and the Governor's Office on having Hispanic/Latino parents read to their children each day in Spanish. This habit not only helps youth acquire basic language and reading skills, but also instills in them a love for reading. Bilingual education programs in the public schools echo the need to have parents involved in daily reading to their children in Spanish.

Moreover, it was also obvious to us that, in our market, there simply were not enough booksellers providing Spanish-language materials to meet this basic educational need. We saw an increase in the potential sales demand coming from both the individual Spanish readers and from educational institutions placing orders for their libraries and bilingual curricula materials. Our conclusion, based on both the economic analysis of this market sector and the less quantifiable mission objectives of our bookstore, dictated that we implement a strategy to serve the Hispanic/Latino market.

Rincn de libros: Making the commitment

Having made the decision to serve the Spanish-language market, the logical next consideration was to what degree the bookstore would commit to this demographic.

Like most bookstores, we had stocked a fair-sized Spanish language section in the bookstore for many years, as we have for most other major languages. But we believed that a much larger commitment to Spanish books was warranted. We also believed it very important to create, as part of this project, a cultural oasis of sorts where Spanish author events could be held and where there would be social information available, such as a community bulletin board, specialty newspapers and magazines, immigration and legal referral materials, and local embassy/consulate contact information. It would also serve as a venue for local Hispanic/Latino artists.

Thus was born the concept of a Spanish Language "bookstore within the bookstore," which, after much consideration, we dubbed the Rincn de Libros (literally "corner of books," perhaps better rendered as the "book nook").

Of course, many booksellers will not be able to make a similar commitment to their Spanish patrons, but there is a very broad spectrum of options that can be considered. These range from dedicating a shelf or two to Spanish titles and reference books to an expanded Spanish room, like ours, containing several thousand books.

Perhaps as important as the inventory and its corollary, the allocation of shelf and floor space, is a bookstore's commitment to providing an environment that welcomes Latinos, and also accommodates important social and cultural needs. Most of these objectives can be achieved without devoting much more space.

Once the decision to work with the Hispanic/Latino market has been made and the magnitude of the commitment decided, there remain sizable operational considerations: staffing, space, inventory, and marketing.

Staffing the Hispanic/Latino section

As all savvy booksellers know, the key to success is the caliber of your staff. This is absolutely critical in the context of a strategic move into markets that cross linguistic and cultural bounds. Without in-house Spanish language skills and sensitivity to the crucial characteristics of the Hispanic/Latino cultures, there would be little chance of success. In our case, the success of our Spanish bookstore has been directly correlated with the quality of the person/people we have involved in its operation.

It is important to note that while we use the term "Hispanic/Latino" to denote this demographic -- and while Latinos often choose to think of themselves monolithically for many linguistic, political, economic, and social purposes -- the Hispanic/Latino community is diverse and embraces a wide variety of cultures. It is easy to recognize, for example, that a bookstore patron who has immigrated from Madrid might have a very different background and thus different expectations of his/her bookstore, from the migrant worker family newly arrived from Guadalajara. Perhaps not so obvious is that there also exists a very wide range of language variations (usage nuance, syntax, pronunciation, and socio-literary tradition) within the overly broad rubric of "Spanish."

No staff member or members hired in this effort will be wholly familiar with all aspects of these cultural and linguistic variables. What is certain is that a native speaker of Spanish will have a far better understanding of these issues than a "gringo" bookseller with two years of university Spanish and a semester abroad in Barcelona.

For Weller's, the scope of the mandate assigned Rincn de Libros required that we hire someone at a professional pay grade. We chose a well-educated and exuberant Latina who had been working in the social services area in our Hispanic/Latino community. She brought to the table the linguistic and cultural background of a university educated Mexican transplant, as well as the kind of contacts and networking skills that were critical to us. This was crucial because we had determined that much of our revenue would come from institutional customers, particularly schools, libraries, and Hispanic/Latino community services organizations.

Community contacts are also very important in executing a marketing strategy to drive demand from individual consumers. Regardless of your bookstore's commitment to the Hispanic/Latino market or the constraints of the payroll budget, it may prove beneficial to look at making Spanish language skills an important criterion for future hiring decisions -- many bookstores will have already arrived at this conclusion, as has the retail sector generally.

Allocating space to a Spanish-language area

As to the physical logistics of a Spanish language area, Sam Weller's is unusual among independents in that we own our building and have some underutilized space. Fortunately, there was an abandoned kitchen of about 900 square feet in our lower level, which had once served a tenant nightclub. The room had since been used as an inventory storage area for our publishing subsidiary. The floor was tiled in terra cotta and had arched entrances, long since boarded over, leading to the bookstore, all of which fitted perfectly with the Latin theme we wanted for the Rincn de Libros.

Our staff moved the stored inventory, demolished and repaired the doorways, replaced the ceiling tile, mudded the walls to create a textured stucco look, and painted the room using a bright, Latin palette. We pulled in some unutilized fixtures to meet operational needs: bookshelves, desk, computer, and phone. We completed the decor by inviting two local Latina painters to display for sale several of their original oils and tapestries.

Again, the resources we had to work with in this project were decidedly greater than those available to many booksellers, but the components of design, signage, and layout that are utilized to enhance and to differentiate an Hispanic/Latino section, bookcase, or corner can greatly improve its appeal and thus its sales potential.

Inventory challenges

The most daunting challenge for English bookstores expanding to serve the Spanish market will be acquiring a satisfactory inventory. Fortunately, most publishers and mainstream distributors have also done their demographic homework and are racing to make Spanish-language titles available. This is true for Random House, Scholastic (Lectorum), DK, Larousse, Barefoot, Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and others. There are also U.S.-based distributors who exclusively offer Spanish-language stock. Santilliana USA, out of Miami, is perhaps the largest. The ABA Spanish-language focus group has also prepared a list of publishers and distributors that sell Spanish language titles. (The list is available by sending an e-mail to ABA Director of Membership Marketing Meg Smith at [email protected]). Booksellers shouldn't neglect the potential of foreign-based publishers, either. These contacts will prove beneficial when fielding special order requests from customers.

One important lesson we learned about inventory acquisition is that a book by an Anglo author that has been translated into Spanish and published in the U.S. is not at all the same product, nor will it have the same reader appeal, as a book written in Spanish and published in Santiago by a Chilean author. And neither of those books is the same product as a book written in Spanish and published in Havana by a Cuban author. As discussed above, the Hispanic/Latino market is extremely diverse, both as to culture and language. These differences are nowhere more evident than in literature. Here, again, it is important for booksellers to have an in-house expert to guide them through this cultural/linguistic labyrinth.

Concerning inventory demand, we have found that children's books and early primers are perhaps our more popular inventory. This fact traces back to our emphasis on supporting bilingual education programs in the primary schools. How-to books and professional/vocational preparation and certification books are also popular. Standards of Spanish literature from their respective countries, as well as cheaper pulp fiction, are good sellers, too. Spanish translations of top-selling English books have also proved to be an inventory staple. Religious books and biblica generate a satisfactory demand, and, of course, English-Spanish language learning books and dictionaries are important.

One final note on inventory demand stems from another demographic characteristic of this market, specifically that a significant portion of the Hispanic/Latino community is recently arrived in this country and does not have much disposable income. The basics of survival -- eating, housing, transportation, education, and medical care -- will have primacy in allotting their budgets.

As such, price-point is very important. We have addressed this issue by seeking to stock the Rincn de Libros with as many used books as possible. These are harder to find than new books. We bring them in through our used-book buying desk when possible, but we have also gone to book dealers as far afield as Buenos Aries to find used books that enable us to keep prices down for our customers. Many independents do not have the same new/used/rare business model as we do, so stocking used books may not be an option. Nonetheless, pricing should remain a major consideration for booksellers stocking their Spanish section.

Marketing

Marketing to the Hispanic/Latino community is relatively simple in most areas. Most sizeable cities now have Hispanic Yellow Page directories, Spanish-language radio and TV stations, and numerous print media outlets -- newspapers and magazines. Some NPR stations have programming in Spanish directed at this demographic so it would be worthwhile to consider underwriting one of them. Once booksellers begin to communicate the existence of an Hispanic/Latino section in their stores, the advertising sales reps usually find them.

But the foregoing options generally imply some expenditure. Booksellers should try to capitalize on free word-of-mouth advertising and networking: participate in the local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce or, perhaps, set up displays at Latino exhibitions, celebrations, schools, and fairs.

In addition, local government is a great source of free advertising and contact. All elected officials are anxious to be seen vigorously supporting diversity and especially this segment of their community. Invite, as we did, the mayor to inaugurate your Spanish section or to attend significant Spanish events at the bookstore. Have open houses and receptions for teachers and administrators in charge of bilingual education in your area to introduce them to your inventory and services.

The local embassy, consulate, and even state Hispanic affairs officials, will be keen to be seen at bookstore gatherings of the Hispanic/Latino community -- so invite them. Often the media will follow the politicians if the bookseller is clever with a press release, and that's good free publicity. One press release we did concerning the opening of the Rincn de Libros yielded invitations to participate on local radio talk programs broadcast on some of the most expensive stations in our city and generated newspaper articles in the city's major dailies.

There is much marketing that can be done inside the bookstore. We plan to initiate a Spanish-language newsletter next month with translations of some portions of our English-language newsletter, as well as articles written exclusively for the Rincn de Libros customer. This will be followed by a link on the homepage of our website to a Spanish-language page.

A newsletter and other advertising options such as mass mailings and e-mails imply that the bookstore has started and maintains a customer/mailing list for this set of its clients. We have been able to tie-in to existing mailing lists by networking with Hispanic/Latino community social services and advocacy players. Booksellers should not ignore such simple things as creating fetching graphics, a logo, and window display signage for their Spanish-speaking customers.

The result

On balance, we have been very satisfied with the contributions of our Rincn de Libros. Besides the increased business that has been derived from the operation, it has generally garnered the bookstore a great deal of positive publicity and many compliments from both the Anglo and Hispanic/Latino community. It has greatly bolstered our image as an active force for literacy and education in the community.

Our recommendation would be that booksellers take a careful look at their own situation and see if some degree of participation in this important new Spanish market segment may not be beneficial. And remember, as was pointed out in one recent ABA seminar on marketing strategy, the fair evaluation of a project of this nature cannot be made without two or three years of unmitigated commitment.