"You've got mail, S#@thead!"

From yesterday's N.Y. Times media section:

"In a twist straight out of the movies, some publishers speculated that many of the independents that survived the big chains over the last 15 years might be in an unusually stable position. By the American Booksellers Association’s count, there are more than 2,000 independent bookstores in the United States.

“Being small and privately held allows us to be more nimble,” said Chris Morrow, owner of the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vt. “Our competitive advantage has been the curation aspect — knowing our customers and picking the right books.

“We still have that competitive advantage,” he added. “Barnes & Noble doesn’t have that.”

You've got mail, S#@thead.

Actually, this has been my take on things for some time now. Did you notice how little effect Walmart had on downtown Bend? You know why? Because we'd already weeded out anyone who could be killed off when the Mountain View Mall and the Bend River Mall opened in 1979.

30 years later, the malls are both gone, torn down, and replaced by another dinosaur concept that the big chains think will work better. But downtown Bend has clawed its way back, and those who survived, those who colonized the neutron bomb blasted territory, hardly felt a twinge from Walmart.

The other way I always put it: The dinosaurs forced the mammals to scurry between their feet in the cracks in the rocks for survival strategy, and when the Big Change came, the same survival strategy helped them survive. The dinosaurs who ruled the earth? They're all gone.

The thing about high volume and low price? You have to keep it up. You have to keep beating off competitors who may come in at even lower price; you have to keep that volume up by opening new stores. Once you try to back away from either concept, you lose your reason for being.

You'll notice they always try. "We're refocusing on service and selection. We're going to bring in toys and other product. Blah, blah, blah."

Sorry, Tom Hanks. People shop at your store because you have bezillions of books. Not because they think the clerk is going to know what the hell book you're asking about. Not because of toys. Or games.

Books and a comfortable place to spill coffee on them.