Codys was once a Berkeley icon. I look at my frequent buyer's card and keep wondering about Codys'. Whenever I visit the Bay area, I always love to hang out here. Now, within a span of 9 months two of their three stores close down. Their signature Telegraph Rd store in Berkeley was closed amidst quite a bit of sentimental outpour and lament that people nowadays buy everything online. I remember, even New York Times mentioned that. One of the comments that stuck on me was about the owners comment on - Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" gathering dust on the shelves - with no takers. Meaning - people don't go for these books anymore - signaling a phase shift in tastes and preferences. So, it is not just competing with other forms of books stores - the big boys - Borders and Barnes & Noble, but it is also about competition. With other modes of information, education, and entertainment. To counter that, in a modest way, Codys' promise to the die-hard fans was that their new store in Stockton St. in downtown SF would do the magic - offset many of the pitfalls that Telegraph had and prove to turnaround the business. Not so. I have been visiting Codys quite often over the last year and also Borders that is a few block away on Powell St next to Union Square. The difference is quite obvious. I cannot say whether Borders is making a profit or not but one thing I can certainly say - there are more people shopping in Borders. I wonder - Why? Before getting into what the possible reasons are - I must admit I am a big fan of independent books stores and these reasons, albiet my personal observations - cut to the heart of why an independent store fails to get my business. I go to inde book stores over a B&N or Borders only for two reasons: Unique experience and Discounts.
Codys fails my expectations on both these grounds. Let's take the easier one first - discounts. I haven't seen Cody's provide discounts over marked prices. The only discounts one can get is through the frequent buyer card which is - buy for $200 bucks to get a $20 off - a 10% discount. A B&N membership works much better for me. Compared to say - The Strand book store in NYC (which is a favorite place of mine) - Codys simply falls way short. So buying a book in Codys is no better than anywhere else - maybe even worse. As far unique experience, I must admit - I do feel a difference when I go into Codys. There is a certain order in which the books are shelved which gives a special touch. There are some books that may be found only in Codys - another way an inde store would try to differentiate - but there weren't that many - to make a mention of this fact. After a few visits, I felt Codys to be quite boring. The other aspect of the experience is when you interact with the people manning the store. I did not find anything special about the staff in Codys. They appeared as ignorant or confused or knowledgable as any body else who relies completely on computer searches. In comparison, I had two "aha" or as Tom Peters would say "wow" moments in the Borders next door. Once, the person at the checkout looked at my credit card and started discussing about stories written by a Berkeley based South Asian author who had the same last name as mine. I don't know how many times I have used my credit card before that evening - but never before, has my last name resulted in such a conversation. The second time was - when I asked for some help to find a particular book. I had completely forgotten the title of the book and badly mixed-up the author's name. The best I could specify was the theme of the poem. And the lady who was helping me - without checking the voodoo-blessed "system" took me to the bookshelf and said, "There you go! Late Wife by Claudia Emerson." "Yup, That's the one I was looking for," I replied - smiling - utterly embarrassed and completely impressed.
My point is: Yes, there are challenges for stores like Codys'. Some may argue that selling books and even music through such a business model may be selling "buggy whips" in today's markets. But, people like me love independent stores for a reason. It is the same reason why people still buy sail boats and sail. It is for the same reason why the horse carriages that go around Central Park would buy buggy whips. And if shops like Codys do not pay heed to why people love their stores amidst the changing market, well - they are sure to pale into the oblivion.
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