Good service, atmosphere help keep indie retailers in the game

When people line up at a coffee shop for their morning brew or crowd a bookstore to meet a famous author, don't assume they're patronizing a national chain.

Many independent stores have been able to survive, thrive and even launch despite competition from big-box retailers like Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble and Home Depot. Indies are doing this by becoming more a part of the fabric in the communities they serve, offering more personalized service and unique ambience than the bigger guys.

For instance, at FoxTale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, Ga., the strategy is building relationships with customers and the community. The staff spends time chatting with customers about books, knows customers' tastes and recommends books.

It also holds writing classes and events like parties for authors, especially those who live in the Atlanta area. While many bookstores hold meet-the-author events, FoxTale periodically rents a theater across the street, turning it into a bigger event.

The store also has an eclectic look. It is decorated with antiques and a bicycle suspended from the ceiling in the children's room. It's intimate; at 1,500 square feet, it's less than a tenth the size of a nearby Barnes & Noble.

As a result of its small-bookstore feel and personalized services, sales at FoxTale have increased between 15 percent and 25 percent a year since it opened in 2007 — despite Barnes & Noble's proximity, co-owner Ellen Ward says.

"We aren't so much selling the book as we are selling the experience," she says.

But in recent years, shoppers have veered away from big-box retailers, and many stores have closed. Indie bookstores have benefited from the demise of Borders' 640 stores and the closing of more than 150 stores owned by Barnes & Nobles in recent years. There were 2,227 independent U.S. bookstores last year, up from 1,651 in 2009, says the American Booksellers Association, a trade group.

And there may be more opportunities for indies: Published reports have said Sports Authority, which has been struggling to make its debt payments, may close 200 of its 450 stores

Indie retailers that survive are able to provide a personal touch that a big-box retailer cannot because they must comply with corporate procedures, says Edward Fox, a marketing professor at Southern Methodist University. For example, a shopper might look for a dress at a department store, not find anything suitable and hear from a staffer, "that's all we have."

"A boutique owner might say, 'I know a place where I can get it, or I have a vendor who can get you something,' " Fox says.

Personalized service is critical to Kiddles Sport's longevity. The Lake Forest, Ill., sporting goods retailer, which has been in Aric Shlifka's family for nearly 50 years, doesn't have room for as many different baseball gloves, athletic shoes and other items as stores like Dick's or Sports Authority.

"People trust us to help them choose the right bike or shoe," said Shlifka, who added that the services his store provides have helped revenue increase between 2 percent and 4 percent annually in recent years.

Joyce Rosenberg is a business reporter for the Associated Press.