Thirty-two-year-old Vancouver bookseller Book Warehouse will close its four stores as soon as all its books are gone.
“Our leases have expired and we’re on a month-to-month leases now,” Book Warehouse owner Sharman King told Business in Vancouver Thursday.
His three Vancouver stores are at:
- 632 West Broadway;
- 4444 West 10th Avenue; and
- 1051 Davie Street.
He also operates one North Vancouver location at 1524 Lonsdale Avenue.
King said he has no regrets about being in the low-margin discount bookselling business. He is 65 years old and plans to retire.
When BIV last spoke with King, in July 2010, he had closed a location on West 4th Avenue because of poor foot traffic and said that he was considering opening a new location downtown. (See “Closures rise, but final chapter in bookstore trade yet to be written” – issue 1081; July 13-19,2010.)
The challenge for book selling in Vancouver, King said at the time, was high business taxes. The challenge with selling books in the suburbs is low foot traffic.
Another Vancouver-based bookselling chain, Duthie Books, closed its final store in 2010 after being in business 52 years, including a stint when it had eight stores.
