National Book Warehouse calls it quits
National Book Warehouse will close after merger talks with another company failed and it was unable to emerge from bankruptcy by itself. The company will liquidate by February, according to CEO David Hinkle.
NBW has been an Amazon Marketplace seller of remainder, overstock and returned books and operated about 100 Book Warehouse and Foozles bookstores. It had also operated temporary bargain bookstores called Book Market.
NBW has been an Amazon Marketplace seller of remainder, overstock and returned books and operated about 100 Book Warehouse and Foozles bookstores. It had also operated temporary bargain bookstores called Book Market.
posted by Steve Weber at 9/26/2006
8 Comments:
I am a former employee of National Book Warehouse and I am deeply sadden by the decision made by David Hinkle and VP Chip Mincey to liquidate their stores. Their company was one of the few book companys left to offer the dedicated customer service and amazingly low prices that so many consumers loved. We had a very loyal following in my particular location. This company and the dedicated, hard-working employees will be greatly missed. Good luck to you all.
I too, am a former employee of National Book Warehouse. After serving as a store manager for five years, I left last year to spend more time with my family. I suppose I took for granted, that the store I managed would always be around for me as a customer. I am very sorry to hear the company is closing for business. I know the stores, and employees will be deeply missed by many loyal customers, educators and all the others we counted as friends. Good luck to everyone, and keep in mind all the amazing talents you have developed by working for National Book Warehouse.
As a former emmployee Chip mincey drained evry penny NBW had and new that the doors would close. All he is worried about is himself. I feel sorry for all the people that lost their jobs. Seveveral people worked for the company since high school, but is he concerned, not one bit!
I am also a previous employee of NBW. Obviously the previous comment was made by a disgruntled employee who does not know what they are talking about. Why else would they only mention one owner in their comment? David & Chip are equal owners of the company & equally share in the loss of the company. Chip is very well respected & has a very big heart. I guarantee that he fought tooth & nail for the company to survive & his biggest concern now would be the loyal employees that are now losing their jobs. He was always the first to praise his employees. Again, this person does not know of what they speak. I wish everyone the best, including Chip & David.
After over a decade as an employee of National Book Warehouse, I have said goodbye to friends that have truly become family. The love of books and the love of a great company are shared by most people that ever worked at NBW. It is apparent in reading some of the postings out there, that some people are bitter at David and Chip. What a shame! David and Chip gave people opportunities, helped people to grow, rewarded employees during good times and are deeply saddened that the company is closing. To all the great people I ever worked with (including David and Chip)—thanks for all the friendship, company loyalty and invaluable experiences. May we all walk away from NBW knowing that we did our best and learned a great deal that will help us be successful in embracing life’s next challenge.
For all of the current and former employees of Book Warehouse who have posted here I want thank each and every one of you for your comments. I have been truly blessed by having the opportunity the last 17 years to work with the best group of people I could ever imagine. I wish we (myself and David Hinkle) could have found a way during these tough times to keep this team together as they deserve so much better than what is now taking place. Good Luck to each and every one of you. God Bless!!
Chip Mincey
I am a current employee of the NBW. First off, I'm appreciative for having been given the opportunity to work for the NBW for several years. I might add, that I gave the best service I could to this company so I feel it was a two-way street.
Naturally like many who will soon be unemployed, I'm disappointed that nothing could be done to resolve the bankruptcy issues. That said, it seems to me that when an entire corporation of the size of the NBW goes into Chapter Eleven, one need only look at management. The NBW failed because it was mismanaged. Expansion was far too aggressive, an internet presence far too late, merchandising policies too out-of-date and too restrictive. For instance, in the region in which our store operated, at one time we were able to obtain books that pertained to this locality as a result of which, our sales were higher. In addition, there was a time that our store had at least some current releases. Why these things were dropped is beyond me. Oh, I know we were told that studies at some test stores indicated that such measures were not cost-effective but quite frankly having seen the results of these so-called study-stores, I'm very suspicious of the methods employed.
Customers hated the shelf-talker and book toppers. I've actually seen some pull them out and drop them on the floor since they frustrated them in trying to read titles "under" the books on the lower shelf. The over-use of signage was ridiculous. Customers were inundated with signs and invariably simply tuned them out. We had a district manager (who was quite obviously not a book person and knew next to nothing about books) come into our store, rave about how wonderful it was and then proceed to rip it apart since it "didn't flow psychologically". Baloney! Our numbers were up, our local customers knew where to find their favorites (and trust me, they complained vigorously when we re-organized the store so it would flow psychologically for our DM) and yet, it didn't cut it with the DM. Why wasn't more authority given to the local managers? I'm speculating that there was not a need for so many district managers. The cost of flying them, feeding them, and housing them across their districts was exorbitant. And yet... they STILL doing this! For crying out loud, WHY? I believe there was little trust at home office, so there needed to be a constant check on the troops and that sort of thing is both costly and in the end, helped destroy the company.
Oh, I could go on with other examples of waste and the short-sightedness of the company in refusing to advertise specials locally (until it was "too late")... but what would be the point? The bottom line is this: the company was mismanaged and that is the reason it failed. There is a place for this sort of discount bookstore and it could (and should) have been successful. Our customers have been expressing their frustration that our store is closing. They ask, "Why?" I respond, "Well, why would an entire corporation fail?" Do you know that almost to a man, everyone has given the answer I've offered.
It's a sad situation but not a surprising one. I'm not bitter but I am deeply disappointed in this company's CEOs.
Having learned only recently of NBW's demise, I want to pass along my thanks and best wishes to all former employees of the company. As someone who is deathly afraid of flying, I took many a long driving vacation across this country, and two of my constant companions in the front seat were my road atlas and a list of NBW stores. I stopped at many of them, in part because their stock always seemed to vary a bit by store, but also because I loved sharing my enthusiasm for books with the people who worked there.
The bookseller that took over the NBW domain name looks promising, but it can never take the place of the "brick and mortar" stores and the wonderful people I met in them. Good luck to you all, it was fun while it lasted!
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