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Letterpress Books Thrives in Portland, Maine
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Letterpress Books, a family-owned and operated bookstore that opened in Portland, Maine, in October 2013, is seeing business increase by the day, bolstered by good word-of-mouth, Portland’s strong Buy Local movement, and its owners’ commitment to filling the diverse needs of the local community.
“We’re still getting discovered,” said owner and manager Katherine Osborne, who has a long history in the bookselling business, mainly in managerial and buying roles. “Twenty-five percent of our customers every day are people who haven’t been in the store before. Lots of regulars are sending their family and friends over. Word of mouth has been huge.”
Osborne has worked in bookselling in Maine for 26 years, first at Bookland, then at Books Etc., and finally at Kennebooks, which are all now shuttered. Looking to stay in the bookselling business, Osborne teamed up with her mother, Karen Bakshoian, and stepfather, John Paul Bakshoian, to open up a small shop in the suburbs of Portland.
Putting her bookselling experience to work, Osborne created a business plan and researched bank loans and venues. “It was a lot of effort, but I had a lot of experience in running a store. I had a good idea of what was involved and what we would need,” Osborne said. Meanwhile, Karen Bakshoian used her previous marketing experience with a software company in California to draft a marketing plan, and John Paul Bakshoian put his skills to work on receiving and inventory, as well as some event coordinating.
“Everyone’s really thrilled to have a bookstore in the neighborhood,” said Osborne. The bookstore includes 864 square feet of selling space, plus a small office, storage, and receiving area, and is located in a shopping plaza with a grocery store, drug store, UPS shop, pet store, and a Starbucks — a destination for shoppers from several large towns in the surrounding area, as well as anyone cruising down the main drag into Portland. “It’s kind of got everything. It’s the go-to place for the whole neighborhood.”
Well-stocked with a general-interest selection, Letterpress sells plenty of fiction, mysteries, history books, and children’s titles to cater to the surrounding schools as well as to area retirement communities. The store also offers a frequent buyer program, educator discounts, a weekly senior discount day, regular children’s story times, and a consignment program to recognize and feature its many local and self-published authors.
“Maine is just full of writers, and we have several who live right in the neighborhood who are quite popular,” said Osborne. The store devotes substantial shelving in its mystery and fiction sections to Maine authors or those writing about Maine, and has a full section of regional books. Events programming at the store also highlights local authors, said Osborne, such as Dr. Bernd Heinrich, a New England scientist and writer, and Maine mystery writer Paul Doiron.
To engage the community in buying local, Letterpress celebrated Independent Bookstore Day on May 2, 2015, and is looking forward to July’s month-long celebration of Find Waldo Local. The bookstore is also a member of Portland Buy Local.
“In Portland, the buy local movement is huge,” said Osborne. “People are really trying hard to shop locally. Over the holidays, we had people come in and brag that they were only shopping at local stores.” Store staff actively hand out free booklets listing all of the Portland Buy Local members and give away at least a couple a day.
Portland has its share of independent shops, including Longfellow Books downtown, but, for the most part, the bookstores’ customer bases don’t overlap, said Osborne. “We send people in their direction if we don’t have what people are looking for. It’s the same with independent bookstores all over — we’re just trying to be part of the team.”
Letterpress has also found an interesting customer base at the annual Portland Flower Show, where the store showcases gardening and nature books for children and adults. “It’s what they’re there for, so it’s like a specialized bookstore,” said Osborne. “It’s a great event for us. And it’s fun to get out of the store for a few days.”
The owners of Letterpress know that the best way to run a successful bookstore is to give their customers what they want and need, said Osborne. Karen Bakshoian said area parents seem to be especially happy. “The kids come in and they’re not overwhelmed, like in a big box store. Our customers are definitely telling their friends and dragging their family members in here, and this is contributing to a rising trend in our sales.”
Osborne said the bookstore staff aims high to make sure customers are happy. “We try to give the best customer service possible,” she said. “We’re just trying to do all the right things. We’re really lucky to be able to work in bookselling — at least that’s how I look at it.”