Powell's Books: Difference between revisions

| owner = Walter Powell (1971–1982), Michael Powell (1982–2010), Emily Powell (2010-present)<ref name="funduni" /><ref name="pandw2010" /><ref>{{citeCite web |last1last=Chamberlin |first1first=Jeremiah |title=Inside Indie Bookstores: Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon |url=https://www.pw.org/print/567509?destination=content/inside_indie_bookstores_powell_s_books_in_portland_oregon |publisher=Poets & Writers}}</ref>

| key_people = Emily Powell<ref name="pandw2010" />

| locations = FiveFour (fourthree full-service locations and one specialty bookstore)

| revenue = $45 million (as of 2009)<ref name="pbj201003" />

| num_employees = about 500<ref name="pandw2010" />

'''Powell's Books''' is a chain of [[bookstore]]s in [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Oregon]], and its surrounding [[Portland metropolitan area|metropolitan area]]. Powell's headquarters, dubbed '''Powell's City of Books''', claims to be the largest [[independent bookstore|independent new and used bookstore]] in the world.<ref name="city of books">{{citeCite web | title = Powell's Books on Burnside | publisher = Powell's City of Books | url = https://www.powells.com/locations/powells-city-of-books | access-date = 2009-03-12 |publisher=Powell's City of Books}}</ref> Powell's City of Books is located in the [[Pearl District]] on the edge of [[Downtown Portland|downtown]] and occupies a full [[city block]] between NW 10th and 11th Avenues and between W. Burnside and NW Couch Streets. It contains over {{convert|68,000|ft2}}, about 1.6 acres of retail floor space. CNN rates it one of the "coolest" bookstores in the world.<ref>{{citeCite web |last=Frances Cha |date=July 30, 2014 |title=World's coolest bookstores |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/23/travel/worlds-coolest-bookstores/index.html |access-date=2016-06-18 |publisher=CNN}}</ref>

The City of Books has nine color-coded rooms and over 3,500 different sections.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.powells.com/locations/powells-city-of-books |title=Powell's City of Books at Burnside - Powell's Books |url=https://www.powells.com/locations/powells-city-of-books |website=www.powells.com}}</ref>

The inventory for its retail and online sales is over four million new, used, [[Book collecting|rare]], and out-of-print books.<ref>{{citeCite web | title = Internet Retailer Best of the Web 2006 | publisher = [[Internet Retailer]] | url = http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=16892#powells | access-date = 2007-08-28 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090214233922/http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=16892#powells | archive-date = February 14, 2009 |access-date=2007-08-28 df |publisher=[[Internet Retailer]] |df=mdy-all }}</ref> As of 2009, Powell's was buying around 3,000 used books a day.<ref name="burnside-2009">{{citeCite web | title = Powell's City of Books | publisher = Powell's Books | url = http://www.powells.com/info/places/burnsideinfo.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212042633/http://www.powells.com/info/places/burnsideinfo.html |archive-date=December 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |access-date = 2021-02-26 |publisher=Powell's Books}}</ref>

Powell's was founded by Walter Powell in 1971. His son, Michael Powell, had started a bookstore in [[Chicago, Illinois]], in 1970 which specialized in used, rare, and discounted books, primarily of an academic and scholarly nature. In 1979, Michael Powell joined his father in Portland, right after his father's store was not offered a lease renewal; within a year, they found the location that became its current headquarters.<ref name="pandw2010" /> Michael bought the bookstore from his father in 1982.<ref name="funduni" />

In 1984,<ref name="suburb" /><ref name="oreg-25nov84">"Loehmann's Plaza gains 85 percent occupancy". (November 25, 1984). ''The Sunday Oregonian'', p. D11.</ref> Powell's opened its first branch store, in a suburban shopping center named Loehmann's Plaza<ref name=oreg-25nov84/> (later renamed Cascade Plaza),<ref name="oreg-2june87">"Beaverton retail mall rechristened". (June 2, 1987). ''The Oregonian'', p. D8.</ref> near [[Washington Square (Oregon)|Washington Square]]. The new branch was not a replica of its City of Books location; Powell was concerned that the "edgy" neighborhood of its headquarters location was limiting its customer base, so the new store was "fairly fancy" with white shelving, a tile floor, and banners over the aisles.<ref name="pandw2010" /> It was also four times the size of the typical chain bookstore.<ref name="funduni" />

A travel bookstore was established in 1985 on [[Pioneer Courthouse Square]], and other stores followed, one a year for the next few years.<ref name="pandw2010" /> By the early 1990s, Powell's bookstores were part of the resurgence of the [[independent bookstore]], which collectively made 32 percent of book sales in the U.S.<ref name="funduni" /> The travel store closed in 2005.<ref name="oreg-2005feb7">Nkrumah, Wade (February 7, 2005). "Food carts at Pioneer Square may be ousted". ''The Oregonian'', p. C1.</ref>

Powell's established its Internet presence in 1993, beginning with email and [[File transfer protocol|FTP]]-based access to its technical bookstore; it has since expanded to incorporate fiction and other genres as a traditional [[ecommerce]] site.<ref>[https://www.powells.com/info/about-us History of Powells.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716182907/https://www.powells.com/info/details.html |date=July 16, 2012 }} from its website</ref> Their website was established in 1994, before [[Amazon.com]], and has contributed substantially to the chain's recent growth.<ref>{{citeCite news |last=Baker |first = Lisa | last date=March Baker19, 2004 | title = Powell’s success story adds a chapter | newspaper work= [[Portland Tribune]] | date = March 19, 2004 | url = http://thevig.portlandtribune.com/news/print_story.php?story_id=23515 | access-date = 2012-08-27 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The City of Books location grew to its current size after an expansion that opened in 1999; it included a new entrance facing the [[Pearl District]] which featured the "Pillar of Books", a [[Tenino, Washington|Tenino]] sandstone carving depicting a stack of eight of the world's great books, on a base with the inscription "Buy the book, read the book, enjoy the book, sell the book" in Latin.<ref name="funduni" /> For the year ending June 2000, Powell's revenue was $41.8 million.<ref name="funduni">[http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Powells-Books-Inc-Company-History.html Powell's Books, Inc.] from fundinguniverse.com</ref>

In January 2008, Powell's announced plans to expand the downtown City of Books by adding as many as two floors to the store's southeast corner. The expansion was due to add at least {{convert|10000|sqft|m2}} of new retail space.<ref>{{citeCite web| |last=Bennett| |first=Sam |date=November 13, 2008 |title= New design for Powell's Books features an art cube | url= http://djcoregon.com/news/2008/11/13/new-design-for-powells-books-features-an-art-cube/ |access-date=2016-06-18 |newspaper= [[Daily Journal of Commerce]] |date= November 13, 2008 | access-date=2016-06-18}}</ref><ref>{{citeCite news |last=Gunderson |first = Laura |date=January last22, = Gunderson2008 | title = Powell's plans expansion in two years | newspaper work= The Oregonian | date = January 22, 2008 | url = http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/01/powells_plans_expansion_in_two.html | access-date = 2007-01-24}}</ref><ref>{{citeCite news |last=Nawotka |first=Edward |lastdate=NawotkaJanuary 23, 2008 |title=Powell’s to Expand Flagship in 2010, Absorb Technical Store |work=Publishers Weekly |date=January 23, 2008 |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6524823.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2007-01-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209233242/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6524823.html |archive-date=February 9, 2008 }}</ref> Plans submitted to the Portland Design Commission in November 2008 called for a rooftop garden atop the new addition and an "art cube" over a redesigned main entrance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bestseller or return for refund? Powell's unveils design for new entrance to flagship store |url=https://chatterbox.typepad.com/portlandarchitecture/2008/11/powells-unveils-design-for-new-entrance-to-flagship-store.html|title=Bestseller or return for refund? Powell's unveils design for new entrance to flagship store|website=Portland Architecture}}</ref>

In March 2010, Michael Powell confirmed plans to hand over management of the business to his daughter Emily as of July.<ref name="pandw2010" /> That same month, Powell's announced it would close its technical bookstore on the [[North Park Blocks]], moving its sections on math, science, computing, engineering, construction and transportation into "Powell’s Books Building 2" at the corner of 10th and Couch Street, near the main City of Books location; the consolidation was in response to a five-year decline in [[brick-and-mortar]] sales of technical books in favor of online sales.<ref name="pbj201003">{{citeCite news |date=March 4, 2010 |title= Powell's to move Tech Store| date|work=[[Portland MarchBusiness 4, 2010Journal]] | url= http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/03/01/daily57.html | newspaper= [[Portland Business Journal]] | access-date=2010-12-07}}</ref>

In October 2010, Powell's announced it had bought 7,000 books from the library of author [[Anne Rice]]; Powell's offered these [[association copy|association copies]] on their website.<ref>{{citeCite news |last=Giegerich title|first=Andy |date=October 26, 2010 |title=Powell's Books buys Anne Rice collection | datework=[[Portland OctoberBusiness 26, 2010Journal]] | url= http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2010/10/26/powells-books-buys-anne-rice-collection.html | first= Andy |last= Giegerich | newspaper= [[Portland Business Journal]] | access-date=2010-12-07}}</ref> The bookstore was revealed as a charter member of the [[Google eBooks]] service when the news was announced by Google on December 6, 2010.<ref name="googebook2010">{{citeCite web | urldate=December 6, http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/discover-more-than-3-million-google.html | title= Discover more than 3 million Google eBooks from your choice of booksellers and devices |url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/discover-more-than-3-million-google.html work|access-date=2010-12-06 |website=Official blog | publisher=[[Google]] | date= December 6, 2010| access-date=2010-12-06}}</ref>

In June 2011, Powell's participated in [[Google Offers]] during that service's first month of operation; according to [[TechCrunch]]&mdash;which characterized Powell's as a "Portland institution"&mdash;"5,000 Powell’s vouchers sold out in a matter of hours", making it "most popular deal in the month."<ref>{{citeCite news |last=Agrawal |first= Rocky |lastdate=July Agrawal|4, url=2011 https://techcrunch.com/2011/07/04/google-offers-versus-groupon-portland/| title= Google Offers Versus Groupon: The Portland Throwdown | work=[[TechCrunch]] | dateurl=https://techcrunch.com/2011/07/04/google-offers-versus-groupon-portland/ July 4, 2011| access-date=2011-07-11}}</ref>

Starting in May 2012,<ref>{{citeCite web |date=May 4, 2012 |title=The Espresso Book Machine Arrives at Powell's Books |url=http://www.ondemandbooks.com/docs/powells-the-EBM-arrives.pdf| format= PDF| titleaccess-date= The Espresso Book Machine Arrives at Powell's Books2012-05-14 | workwebsite= Press release| date= May 4, 2012 |publisher=OnDemandBooks.com | access-dateformat=2012-05-14PDF}}</ref> Powell's began offering access to [[print on demand]] books via the [[Espresso Book Machine]].<ref>{{citeCite web| url= http://ondemandbooks.com/ebm_locations_list.php | title= EBM Locations: List View | publisherurl= OnDemandBookshttp://ondemandbooks.com|/ebm_locations_list.php |access-date= 2012-05-14 |publisher=OnDemandBooks.com}}</ref><ref>{{citeCite news |last=Hallett |first = Alison | last date=May Hallett4, 2012 | title = More on Powells' New Espresso Book Machine | newspaper work= [[The Portland Mercury]] | date = May 4, 2012 | url = http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2012/05/04/more-on-powells-new-espresso-book-machine | access-date = 2014-06-06}}</ref>

In early 2013, Emily Powell announced that Miriam Sontz, the company's chief operating officer, would take over as chief executive officer.<ref>{{citeCite news |date=25 April 2013 |title=Owner, new CEO of Powell's Books see strength in brick and mortar |publisher=The Oregonian/OregonLive |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2013/04/owner_new_ceo_of_powells_books.html |publisher=The Oregonian/OregonLive |date=25 April 2013}}</ref>

CEO Miriam Sontz retired in January 2019.<ref>{{citeCite news |date=January 3, 2019 |title=New Laws, Northwest Fires, Changes In The Book Biz |publisher=OPB |url=https://www.opb.org/radio/programs/thinkoutloud/segment/daylight-saving-time-changes-in-the-book-biz-new-laws/ |publisher=OPB |date=January 3, 2019}}</ref> Emily Powell remains president and owner.<ref>{{citeCite news |title=CEO of Powell's Books will retire in January 2019 |publisher=KATU News |url=https://katu.com/news/local/ceo-of-powells-books-miriam-sontz-will-retire-in-january-2019 |publisher=KATU News}}</ref>

In September 1998, email from Powell's managers announcing reductions in employee's wage increases prompted the creation of a new organizing committee of 26 employees. They chose the [[International Longshore and Warehouse Union]] (ILWU) because they could charter their own self-governing [[local union]] which would include about 350 employees serving in a variety of jobs in all stores and in the Internet, corporate, and shipping departments. By March 1999, they filed for a union certification election with the [[National Labor Relations Board]]. A month later, by a vote of 161–155, ILWU Local 5 became official.<ref name="ilwu" />

In September 1999, ILWU Local 5 met for the first time with Powell's management, to begin the contract bargaining process. After some early successes, 2000 saw a slowdown in the discussions, followed by rallies, filings of [[unfair labor practice]]s, an unsuccessful decertification campaign, a one-day shutdown of the shipping department (accompanied by the slashing of a van's tire), and [[Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (United States)|federal mediation]]. A three-year contract was finally announced in August 2000.<ref name="ilwu" />

In February 2011 Powell's announced the layoffs of 31 employees, over 7% of its unionized workforce, in “response to the unprecedented, rapidly changing nature of the book industry". It was the first round of layoffs since the store's workers formed a union. A union representative said that Powell's had reduced its workforce by about 40 in the prior year through attrition, but felt that layoffs were still necessary because of a decline in sales of new books and a rise in health care costs.<ref name ="NY Times Arts Beat">{{citeCite news |last=Bosman |first=Julie |date=February 9, 2011 |title= Powell’s Books Announces Layoffs | datework=[[The FebruaryNew 9,York 2011Times]] |Arts Beat blog |url= http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/powells-books-announces-layoffs/ | first= Julie |last= Bosman | newspaper= [[The New York Times]] Arts Beat blog | access-date=2011-02-09}}</ref>

In response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Powell's announced the closing of its five locations and the termination of nearly all employees in mid-March 2020.<ref name="latimes2020">{{citeCite news |last=Pineda |first=Dorany |date=March 18, 2020 |title=Powell’s, Portland’s beloved indie bookstore, will lay off most workers |last1work=Pineda[[Los |first1=DoranyAngeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-03-18/powells-portlands-beloved-indie-bookstore-lays-off-most-workers |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 18, 2020 |access-date=March 19, 2020}}</ref> The letter released by CEO Emily Powell on March 17, 2020, did not disclose the exact number of employees that were laid off. However, roughly 85% of the 400 members of the company's unionized workforce were terminated.<ref name="oregonlive2020">{{citeCite news |last=Rogoway |first=Mike |date=March 16, 2020 |title=Powell's expands coronavirus layoff, warns it will be 'several months' before normal operations |last1work=RogowayThe |first1=MikeOregonian |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2020/03/powells-expands-coronavirus-layoff-warns-it-will-be-several-months-before-normal-operations.html |work=The Oregonian |date=March 16, 2020 |access-date=March 19, 2020}}</ref> More than 100 former staffers were then rehired to fulfill a large surge of online orders, but the union pointed out that only 49 were union-represented, and that the rest were managers who were now doing front-line work normally done by represented employees.<ref name="auto1">https://web.archive.org/web/20200329201856/http://www.powells.com/featured/communitymessage</ref><ref name="auto">{{citeCite news |title=Powell’s recalls some workers to sell books online during coronavirus outbreak |publisher=The Oregonian |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2020/03/powells-recalls-some-workers-to-sell-books-online-during-coronavirus-outbreak.html}}</ref>. In July 2020, Powell's announced that the store and kiosk in the [[Portland International Airport]] would remain closed permanently.<ref name="airport">{{Cite news |publisherlast=TheStaff Oregonian|first=KATU |date=2020-07-27 |title=PDX airport Powell's Books locations close permanently |url=https://katu.com/news/local/pdx-airport-powells-books-locations-close-permanently |access-date=2021-07-13}}</ref>

Powell's Books was a key opponent of Oregon's [[Oregon Ballot Measure 97 (2016)|Measure 97]], which would have raised corporate taxes to fund schools, healthcare and senior services. Michael Powell contributed $25,000 to the opposition campaign.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oregon Secretary Of State |url=https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/gotoPublicTransactionDetail.do?tranRsn=2313889 |titleaccess-date=Oregon2017-01-19 Secretary Of State|website=secure.sos.state.or.us|access-date=2017-01-19}}</ref> Powell's Books was featured in television ads for the No campaign,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Oregon_Business_Tax_Increase,_Measure_97_(2016) |title=Oregon Business Tax Increase, Measure 97 (2016) - Ballotpedia |language=en |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Oregon_Business_Tax_Increase,_Measure_97_(2016) |access-date=2017-01-19}}</ref> and Emily Powell signed a statement opposing the measure in the voter's pamphlet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2016 General Election Voters Pamphlet, page 83 |url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebdrawer/RecordView/6873793 |titleaccess-date=May 4, 2021 |website=sos.oregon.gov}}</ref>

*a {{convert|32500|sqft|adj=on}} general bookstore with the "largest children's book section of any book store on the West Coast",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Powells Books At Cedar Hills Crossing |url=https://www.powells.com/locations/powells-books-at-cedar-hills-crossing|title=Powells Books At Cedar Hills Crossing|website=www.powells.com}}</ref> located at [[Cedar Hills Crossing]] in [[Beaverton, Oregon|Beaverton]] and opened in November 2006, replacing a 22-year-old location near [[Washington Square (Oregon)|Washington Square]] that was less than half the size.<ref name="suburb">[https://www.powells.com/locations/powells-books-at-cedar-hills-crossing Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227132702/http://www.powells.com/info/places/beavertoninfo.html |date=February 27, 2007 }} from the company's website. Retrieved 2012-07-14.</ref>

*a store with cooking and gardening materials two spaces east of the Hawthorne store (it was announced in January 2016 that Powell's will be taking over the lease of the space between the general interest store and the home and garden store and combine the two stores into one, with larger children's books and authors' event sections).<ref name="expand Hawthorne">{{cite news|last=Marum|first=Anna|title=Powell's Books to expand Hawthorne location|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=January 6, 2016|orig-year=print-edition date January 8, p. C1|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/window-shop/index.ssf/2016/01/powells_hawthorne_expansion.html|access-date=2016-02-01}}</ref>