Less than a year after opening their first location in Southern Ontario, McNally Robinson has filed for bankruptcy protection and closed the doors on their Toronto location.
Citing bad timing and lower book sales in general, as well as increasing competition from online sales and ebooks, the independent bookstore will also be closing the doors on their Polo Park location in Winnipeg.
The loss of their newest location in The Shops at Don Mills is a particularly heavy hit to the community.
After reveling in the writing and author events that breathed new life into the revamped Don Mills Centre in the Don Mills & Lawrence area since April 2009, area residents will feel the loss immediately, as workers at the location were set to be told the news earlier today.
While their roster of stores is now lessened, lovers of books and writing will no doubt rally behind the independent bookseller, its unique programs and their special brand of operation at their two remaining locations, which includes their flagship Grant Park store.
Unfortunately, cities across North America are at risk of losing their own smaller bookstores. See what Harrisburg Book Examiner Jennifer Hudock says about the future of brick and mortar bookstores.
The closing of smaller bookstores has become an all too familiar occurrence as the economy continues to struggle. As the face of the book industry continues to change, the draw of independent book sellers becomes even more of a novelty to both readers and writers alike.
What are your thoughts on the closing of smaller bookstores? Do you think it matters where people buy their books? Do you feel smaller shops stand a chance at competing with larger chains, online bookstores and ebooks? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
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Comments
That is such a shame. :(
Thats too bad it happened
Hi Jennifer & Kim! Thanks for your comments.
It is a shame that such a wonderful bookstore has closed. I went by there tonight and saw that many of the shelves had already been emptied. Hopefully an equally wonderful bookstore will take over the space.
That's horrible. I enjoyed shopping there. I didn't get to go there often as it isn't close to my home, but I did make special trips there every so often. At least I have their lovely reusable shopping bag with a Margaret Atwood quote on it to remember them by.
Hi Gwenyth! Thanks for your comment! I agree, it's too bad that they had to close. And with a few other recent bookstore closures in the city, Toronto book lovers are losing those unique sources for discovering great new books.
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