BEA -- Six Weeks and Counting

BookExpo America, which will be held from Thursday, June 2, to Sunday, June 5, at New York City's Jacob Javits Convention Center, is now just six weeks away. To help our readers prepare for the myriad special events and educational opportunities, each week, Bookselling This Week is shining a spotlight on one or more aspects of the four days of ABA and BEA program offerings.

This week, the focus is on the afternoon sessions being offered as part of ABA's third annual "Day of Education" on Thursday. Throughout the day, a rich and thorough series of educational offerings will focus on one goal -- to help booksellers increase their bottom line. Open to all ABA members, this full day of education -- including lunch -- is free of charge. Advance registration through BEA is required.

The following afternoon sessions emanate from the morning sessions -- adding further detail and study to topics originally raised in "The 2% Solution." The sessions are presented twice in succession, allowing attendees the opportunity to attend as many of the programs as possible.

From 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and again from 3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m., in Room 1B 04, Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, will present "Buying, Selling, and Managing Gifts, Sidelines, and Other Non-Book Products 101."

Often ghettoized in bookstores, the judicious use of gift and other non-book items can help propel a store into the black. At this session, attendees will hear about the merits of adding gift items to the product mix, as well as basic principles of buying, merchandising, and selling gift items. Booksellers will learn how to create a non-book budget, how to deal with items that don't sell, where to find gift and other non-book items, and more.

"Buying, Selling, and Managing Gifts, Sidelines, and Other Non-Book Products 201" will be moderated by Jill Perlstein, ABA director of marketing, from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and again from 3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. in Room 1B 03. Joining Perlstein will be panelists Mary McCarthy of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops in Milwaukee; Lance Fensterman of Bound to be Read, in St. Paul, Minnesota; Julie Norcross of McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petosky, Michigan; and Steve Bercu of Bookpeople, in Austin, Texas.

Stores selling gift items, sidelines, and other non-book products face myriad challenges. Intended for booksellers already experienced with selling gifts and other non-book items, this panel of bookseller experts will address how to find a non-book buyer with the right sensibility, best merchandising practices, how to measure success, and more.

From 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and again from 3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m., in Room 1B 02, Mark Kaufman of Paz & Associates will present "Understanding Co-Op 101." Kaufman, currently serves as "co-op coach" for a network of more than 30 independent bookstores that participate in The Reader's Edge customer newsletter marketing program. For the past 10 years, he has worked with his wife and partner, Donna Paz Kaufman, on the development of innovative resources to enhance an independent store's competitive advantage.

The ABACUS study showed that profitable booksellers spend much less on advertising than unprofitable booksellers. This does not necessarily mean profitable bookstores advertise less, but it does mean they claim more co-op. In this session, booksellers will learn what co-op is, the difference between "pool" and "exempt" co-op, where to find each publisher's co-op terms and policies, how to claim co-op, and more.

"Understanding Co-Op 201" will be moderated by Book Sense Marketing Director Mark Nichols from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and again from 3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. in Room 1C 04. Nichols will be joined by Heather Duncan of the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver; Tom Campbell of the Regulator Bookshop in Durham, North Carolina; and Tracy Adams of Co-op Advertising Solutions.

This panel of bookstore co-op experts will focus on best practices for claiming, using, and managing co-op. Topics will include creating a marketing/advertising plan, how to use co-op efficiently, how to measure the success of advertising and marketing activities, tips on communicating with publisher co-op departments, and more.

From 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and from 3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m., in Room: 1B 01, Dan Cullen, director of ABA's Information Department and editor-in-chief of the Book Sense Picks will present "Outside Sales: Selling Outside the Store and Selling to Corporations." Cullen will be joined by panelists Becky Anderson of Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois; Nancy Olson of Quail Ridge Bookshop in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Jack Covert, president of 800-CEO-READ, a division of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops in Milwaukee.

A bookstore's market does not begin and end at the front door. These bookseller experts will discuss corporate sales, school bookfairs, house parties, and other sales opportunities outside of the store. Attendees will learn how experienced booksellers identify prospective corporate customers, schools, and other groups, and how they manage outside sales.

"The Bookstore as a Third Place: Making A Bookseller's Store a Community Center Through Innovative Events" will be moderated by ABA COO Oren Teicher from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. in Room 1C 03. The session will feature panelists Carla Cohen of Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.; Vivien Jennings of Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kansas; and Kelly Justice of Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia.

In turbulent, troubled times, there is no more important mission for a bookstore than to serve as a gathering place for members of the community to exchange in the free flow of ideas. Author signings and readings are often the impetus for such gatherings, but events in a bookseller's store can be about much more than books. This panel of experts will discuss creating events to position the bookstore as a center for community and political action.

From 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. the special extended session "Improving Ambience, Improving Sales," in Room: 1C 02, will be presented by Kate Whouley of Books in Common. This session was adapted from an all-day educational workshop created by Kate Whouley and presented at the 2004 NEBA Trade Show to rave reviews.

In an era when any book is a click away from the nearest desktop, the only reason a customer will come into a bookstore at all is because it feels good to be there. That elusive retail element called "ambiance" is the focus of this session. Using five ABA member stores as real-life case studies, Whouley will help attendees see their store from a fresh perspective, and provide them with practical advice about how to make their store the place where customers want to be -- and buy.

Rounding out the day, from 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., will be the "Book Sense Sessions for Publishers" in Room 1E 07-08, the ABA/Book Sense Lounge. Representatives from Book Sense will explain how publishers can take advantage of various Book Sense initiatives and will answer questions about the program.

For more information about BEA, including ABA educational programming and special Book Sense and Free Expression events, go to www.bookweb.org/aba/convention/.