One of America’s most famous independent bookstores, Powells of Portland, Oregon, founded in 1971, is optimistic about the future thanks to a $4/5m loan and the imminent launch of a new website. The loan will be used to “address deferred maintenance, day-to-day needs, and to elevate the experience of our bookstores for everyone”, explained owner Emily Powell.
CEO Patrick Bassett told Portland Business Journal: “We’ve got a bullish perspective on where we’re going. We’ve got a new website hopefully coming out this summer, and we think that’s going to provide customers a much better experience.”
Earlier this month Powells held a giant warehouse sale that saw customers queuing around the block. Bassett told the Journal: “We wanted to clear the shelves [of] some of the stuff that hadn’t been selling over the last handful of years and make room for some good stuff… Close to 40,000 units sold.”
It was apparently the first time Powell’s opened its warehouse for a sale, and so successful that Powell’s will likely repeat the event.
“With that kind of turnout, we’ll have to figure out some way of doing something like this again,” Bassett said. “We have certainly learned a lot about how to make this a much better experience for all, even if there are long lines. We’re excited for next year already.”
