Westminster books celebrates 35 years
The staff of Westminster Books love their jobs.
Gloria Nickerson, the marketing coordinator, said she and her co-workers pride themselves on offering Fredericton a unique experience when customers walk into their shop on King Street.
Westminster might remind you of the 1998 movie “You’ve Got Mail,” where actress Meg Ryan owned a quaint children’s bookstore in New York. Like Meg Ryan’s shop, Westminster is a part of its community, whether it’s supporting fundraisers or hosting a book club.
But unlike how the film’s bookstore, ‘The Shop Around the Corner’ met its demise after a big box chain bookstore move in down the road, Westminster has held its own against the big competitors. This year marks 35 years of business, making them the oldest independent bookstore in the Maritimes.
The “You’ve Got Mail” effect on small businesses made news recently, when the Canadian Bookseller’s Association spoke out against Conservative government plans to allow Amazon.com to set up a shipping centre in Canada.
While the move might be good for foreign investment, it could lead to problems for Canadian booksellers.
Nickerson said sticking to their roots has played a big part in keeping Westminster Books in competition with bigger stores like Chapters. Instead of serving coffee and trying to upsell merchandise, they create embellished window displays and comfy chairs to entice readers into the store.
“Local books always do really well here. If anything new comes out that is Fredericton or New Brunswick based it does well,” said Nickerson. “We try to keep a lot of Canadian content and local authors”
Nickerson also said the Fredericton market is different.
“It’s our customers for sure,” she said. “They know the importance of buying local and they understand what we’re doing and the personal service. They come in for that.”
But other bookstores in Canada haven’t been so lucky. This past year, Toronto saw one of its most prominent independent bookstores, Pages Books and Magazines, close after the cost of operating on the famous Queen Street West soared.
Westminster Books has a large children’s and young authors section that is specifically selected by its staff. You won’t find many mass produced books, but there are plenty of gems.
“We don’t do a ton of licensed stuff… A lot of books are picked for the quality of illustration and quality of content.”
Often times Gloria said customers come looking for a certain book without much of a description. She and her co-workers delight in finding that elusive title and they have a good relationship with authors and publishers alike. As a result, most books can be tracked down.
“We have a lot of special orders we do for customers,” Nickerson said.
And going the extra mile for the customer is something the whole staff enjoys. For shop owner Janet North, getting to know the customers plays a big part in her ability to serve them.
“Trying to put a book with a customer… I keep in mind what they like and I choose certain books for certain people,” she said.
