Small Business Strategy A new chapter in the Life of a bookstore

By Cindy Kent | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

August 11, 2008

Nathalie Hill (cq) and her parents Vivianne (cq) and Pierre Friedlich (cq) of Pierre Books in Hollywood which specializes in books written in Spanish and French. (Susan Stocker, Sun Sentinel / September 3, 2008)

Whenever he gets a free moment, Walter Bien-Aime heads to Pierre Books in Hollywood, to buy books about spiritualty and meditation. This is the only place he can browse such a large selection of French-language publications, he says. Bien-Amie, a former teacher, is dedicated to building his home library.

"The first time I came in, I was hooked," said Bien-Amie, a Haitian native and Coconut Creek resident. "I can't go a day without reading, even if it's just for 30 minutes. I read books written in French and what I can't find, I can order." And if he wanted, he could buy books, music and movies in Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Creole at the store as well. Bien-Amie has been shopping at Pierre since it opened in Aventura in 1997.

Vivianne Friedlich, from Belgium, founded the store because she missed reading in her native language. Her business grew initially because of the local Haitian population in Miami, visiting Europeans and French-speaking Canadians.

Bien-Amie is the type of loyal shopper Friedlich counted on when she decided to close the store's Aventura location and move to a larger, street-front location just west of Hollywood's Young Circle. She runs the store with her husband, Pedro Friedlich, and their daughter, Nathalie Hill.

Friedlich said she expected the move to accomplish several things. Relocating from inside a mall to a corner location gave the store immediate exposure from the street. Natural light from large storefront windows gave inventory fresh illumination. A larger space, double in size, provided a better opportunity to organize and display product. And as drivers and strollers passed the shop, Freidlich was certain the business would grow with new, fresh customers.

Anywhere from 20 to 40 customers come in daily to browse, and about two-thirds of those buy puzzles and games, instructional materials, dictionaries and books on a variety of topics, as well as magazines.

But making the move nearly a year ago has put the business at risk, said Pedro Friedlich. In a weak economy, "books are not the first necessity. When we moved we did not expect to lose customers."

But they have, and the Friedlichs blame high gas prices. Their customer base resides in Miami, where the store used to draw twice the number of shoppers. Still, the Friedlichs maintain a corporate client base including other bookstores and library systems.

Their strategy to survive a slow retail market includes cutting back on expenditures.

They have stopped participating in book fairs and going on book-buying trips. They don't have other employees.

Despite the challenges, Pedro Friedlich finds rewards in running a bookstore — and shopping for a book. It's about the actual experience of holding a book, he said, feeling its cover and weight and turning its pages. "It's just the pure joy of books."

Taking notes

How we get the word out: Craigslist. Book signings. Invitations. Word of mouth.

Lessons learned: Handling distributors, publishers and policies for unsold inventory. Don't overstock. Develop a good line of credit.

What we do well: Obtain rare, old and out-of-print books. Respond quickly to customers.

Challenges: Euro vs. dollar. Driving business to the store.

Details: Pierre Books, 2340 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, pierrebooks.com, 954-924-1600