Partners Book Distributing to Close

Partners Book Distributing, comprised of the regional wholesalers Partners/East in Holt, Michigan, and Partners/West in Renton, Washington, is closing and will stop shipping orders on Friday, April 1. In an announcement about the closing, Partners said, “As much as we love what we do, the numbers are no longer working.”

The loss of one of the last regional book wholesalers is being met with sadness and concern among booksellers.

Matt Norcross, co-owner of McLean & Eakin Booksellers, said that his Petoskey, Michigan, store has used Partners/East for all 24 years the store has been in business. The partnership had remained a constant through numerous industry changes.  

“I have long lost count of the number of times Partners Book Distributors saved my butt,” said Norcross. “This is a large reason they are the only book distributor to whom we’ve ever had beer delivered. The role Partners played in our store’s success since the day we opened our doors was always behind-the-scenes, helping us weave that ‘indie-voodoo.’ I know I will struggle now to mask their absence when I need just the right book for our customers.

“Sam, Mick, Sara, Vicky, Susan, and so many others who may never have gotten on the phone with us, but who made those magic white Partners boxes arrive at our store with unmatched precision, will always have our gratitude,” Norcross added. “I’ve come to learn that booksellers can only be as good as their suppliers, and the men and women of Partners let McLean & Eakin be its very best. They will be sorely missed.”

Another Partners client is Third Place Books, which has two locations in the Seattle, Washington, area and a third location opening in late April. Robert Sindelar, the store’s managing partner, told Bookselling This Week that he is sorry to lose Partners’ capacity to provide same-day delivery, something that was possible due to Renton’s close proximity to Seattle.

“We’re really sad about it. They have been an incredible partner. Obviously being so close to us — almost in the same city as us — we’ve had a very close relationship with them, but they also gave very personal service,” said Sindelar. “We could always call them up, when we had a local book or a local author we needed books for, and they would bring them in for us. Whatever we were doing, whether it was book fairs or offsite author events, Partners would work with us to make it happen.”