BOSSIER CITY, La. (AP) - Rose Anne Reppond knows what some customers at The Book Rack are thinking. She knows because she heard them say the same thing since she and her husband, Joe, became bookstore owners.
“People walk in here and say, ’Ah, I love the smell of a bookstore,‴ Rose Anne Reppond said. “Well, I don’t know what a bookstore smells like because I’ve been here all day.″
It’s not just the fact she has been in the bookstore all day. It’s all day, usually six days a week. And not just six days a week, but the Repponds have owned Book Rack stores in Shreveport-Bossier City since 1974.
The multiple bookstores they owned have since been trimmed to The Book Rack in Bossier City. But nothing — not economic downturns, not competition from Amazon and electronic devices and not even COVID-19 — have kept the Repponds from selling books as they have stood the test of time.
Their first Book Rack store was in Shreveport in 1974, across from Shreve City. A year later, they opened a store in Bossier City where they reside.
They moved into their Bossier Crossroads location in the mid-1980s. Then came the opening of Book Racks across Shreveport-Bossier. They opened one on Mansfield Road. Then another one on Pines Road. Another on Jewella Avenue opened and finally one on Kings Highway.
“As we got older,″ Rose Anne said, “we started closing them one at a time because I had lung cancer in 2000. It’s a wake-up call. You don’t want to leave all of this. As they were wheeling me into the operating room I was still doing paychecks because I didn’t want anybody at home without a paycheck.″
After the closing of stores, only one remained — at the Bossier Crossroads at 1700 Old Minden Road.
“This has always been my best store because we are right on the interstate,″ Rose Anne said. “We get people from Shreveport all the time, plus they were used to us in Shreveport. We get people from Monroe, people going to Austin (Texas). We get them from all over. There are people who come in here and say, ‘I’ve been wanting to walk in here forever and I didn’t ever stop.’ We get more customers all the time.″
THE CHALLENGE AHEAD
These are not easy days to be bookstore owners.
The Repponds have seen bookstores come and go. B. Dalton. Books-A-Million. Walden Books. They all had a presence in Shreveport-Bossier City and they are all gone now.
A Google search of bookstores in Bossier City turns up exactly three bookstores — one of which is at Bossier Parish Community College. The others are The Book Rack and Second and Charles.
That’s it for a city with a population of a little more than 68,000.
The average industry growth for bookstores from 2015-20 nationwide was -2.8%, according to IBISWorld. The average growth for 2020 was expected to fall 1.6% and that was before COVID-19.
The Repponds, though, are undaunted. They are competing with Amazon and Barnes & Noble with discounted prices.
“When somebody new comes in … a lot of times they’ll say, ‘We can get it on Amazon but they wanted $20 for it. But look I found it for $5,‴ Rose Anne Reppond said. “They’re happy and we’re happy.″
Some people are just happy to have a book.
“There are so many people that want a book in their hand,″ she said. “I don’t care if their daughter gave them a Kindle or something.″
Their store has just about every book a bibliophile could ever want. They have Civil War books and books from African-American authors. They have best sellers and classics — and they have the Cliff’s Notes for the best sellers and classics. There are biographies, romance novels, historical romance novels and much more.
There are magazines and comic books. There are CDs and DVDs.
But it’s not the selection — and the selection of books is easily in the hundreds — nor the discounted prices the Repponds point to for their longstanding business. It is something else.
“The reason I think is customer service,″ Joe Reppond said. “A lot of stores I’ve been to you can walk in and ask for a book and they’ll say, ‘It’s in that aisle over there.’ They’ll point you in that direction. We believe in helping our customers. That is the blood of our company. If we don’t please them and they don’t come back, we’re out of business.″
THE FUTURE
The Repponds are in their 46th year of bookstore ownership. Fifty years of ownership is on the horizon. And they don’t have any plans of slowing down.
“Some of my older customers will say, ’When are you going to retire?,‴ Joe Reppond said. “When you walk in and see me laying on the ground, I will be retired.″
Said Rose Anne Reppond: “I would love for somebody to come in here and make me an offer I can’t refuse. But then again, I’ve got to warn my customers. I want the new owners trained. But no, we’re not there yet.″
The Repponds’ customers are more than just individuals exchanging cash for products.
After 46 years, the connection between owners and customers is deep.
“Our customers are like our family,″ Joe Reppond said. “If she is out, I’ll have people ask, ‘Where is Rose Anne?’ We know each other by name, a lot of us. It’s such a friendly atmosphere. You feel like you’re dealing not with just customers, but friends.″
Please read our comment policy before commenting.