How Longfellow Books battled back from the blizzard
PHOTO / MATT DODGE
Longfellow Books co-owner Chris Bowe says putting books back on the shelves and reopening quickly were key to recovering from the blizzard-related water damage that ruined nearly half of the store's books on Feb. 11.
Longfellow Books co-owner Chris Bowe certainly knows the value of a good book, but there are some lessons that only a historic blizzard can teach.
When a second-story window blew in at the Monument Square bookstore earlier this month during a record-setting snowstorm, pipes froze and burst, ruining 30% to 40% of the stock and raising questions about the independent bookstore's future.
Now two weeks removed from the incident, Bowe can look back at the big freeze as a learning experience. While the company's insurance covered much of the damage, Bowe is taking the opportunity to focus on the teachable moments that might help retailers in similar straits get back on their feet.
First: Use the misfortune and the resulting media attention to your advantage.
Bowe and co-owner Stuart Gersen conceived a commemorative flood gift certificate and have sold nearly 700 in less than three weeks.
"In a normal February, we'd probably have sold 50," gift certificates says Bowe.
Second: Appeal directly to your customer base by leveraging social media.
"In the wake of something like this, you've got to work [diligently] to communicate," Bowe says.
This was especially true for Longfellow, which, having been around for 13 years, has more than 16,000 members in its discount program and a Facebook following of nearly 2,500.
The social media-driven call for help allowed the bookstore to quickly generate awareness of its plight, and prompted community members to help. A barista at Arabica coffee shop printed up Longfellow T-shirts and neighboring Wigon Office Supply — a longtime friend of the store — gave Bowe an "enormous" check on the first day.
Third: Don't worry about making everything look presentable after an accident, just get the doors open and allow the customers to bring their money and goodwill into the business.
"You've got to get open as quickly as possible because you need the cash flow," Bowe says. "People keep saying how beautiful it looks in here; they are willing to accept less as long as they know we are moving toward more."
The fallout of the Longfellow flood is a testament to the bookstore's reputation within the community. Having paid into the Buy Local ethos for so many years, hosting local authors as well as Portland's first Cash Mob last March, the store was well overdue to make a withdrawal.
"If you treat customers with respect and dignity and really respond to what they want, you become valuable to them — much more than just another shop," Bowe says.
And for many, it has. On March 3, the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance will host "FLOODED: An Outpouring of Literary Conversation in Support of Longfellow Books" at SPACE Gallery in Portland. The sold-out event will include two conversations with Maine writers.
The first, on memoir, will be between authors Richard Russo and Monica Wood and moderated by Moira Driscoll. The second will be on fiction, between authors Ron Currie Jr. & Bill Roorbach and moderated by Brock Clarke.
As for the store, Bowe estimates it will be fully restored by early March.
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