Books-A-Million

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Books-A-Million Inc.
Private
Industry Retail (Specialty)
Entertainment
Founded In 1917 in Florence, Alabama
Founder Clyde W. Anderson
Headquarters Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Number of locations
 250+
Key people
 Clyde B. Anderson, Executive Chairman
Terrance G. Finley, Chief Executive Officer, President
R. Todd Noden, Chief Financial Officer
Products Books-A-Million Booksellers
Number of employees
 5,500 (2008)[1]
Website www.booksamillion.com

Books-A-Million, Inc., also known as BAM!, is an American company that owns and operates the second largest bookstore chain in the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.[2] The company operates over 200 stores in the South, Midwest, and Northeastern United States. As of 2010, the company had about 5,500 employees.

In addition to its flagship Books-A-Million superstore division, the company also operates the stores branded Books & Company and book and greeting card stores under the name Bookland. The company's stores mainly operate within either shopping malls or lifestyle centers. Most Books-A-Million stores feature "Joe Muggs" cafés.

In addition to its primary retail component, the corporation includes a book wholesale and distribution subsidiary, American Wholesale Book Company (AWBC); an e-commerce division operating as booksamillion.com;[3] and an internet development and services company, NetCentral, in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2011, Books-A-Million became the second largest book retailer in the United States, trailing only Barnes & Noble, after the demise of their larger rival, Borders Group.

Divisions[edit]

Books-A-Million in Houston Pavilions, Downtown Houston
A BAM! store that reuses a former Borders Books & Music store in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Books-A-Million superstores[edit]

The Books-A-Million superstore is the main retail entity of the Books-A-Million corporation. The first superstore was opened in 1988,[4] though the company did not post on the NASDAQ until 1992. Today there are over 200 Books-A-Million superstores.[5] The stores range in size from 8,000 to 36,000 square feet (740 to 3,340 m2), most typically around 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2).[6] They sell a range of goods including books, periodicals, gifts, and food offered in the Joe Muggs newsstands.[7]

Many BAM stores have "Joe Muggs"-branded cafes included. Books-A-Million began including Joe Muggs cafes in their superstores in 2001.[4] Books-A-Million owns and operates the brand. The cafe is similar to the Starbucks chain, offering coffee and pastries.

In April 2010, BAM paid $3 million for shares in Yogurt Mountain, a self-serve frozen yogurt chain.[8] Soon after, in October 2010, Yogurt Mountain locations began appearing inside Books-A-Million superstores, beginning in Lakeland, Florida.[9]

Bookland[edit]

Bookland was the precursor to Books-A-Million. It began as a newsstand on the corner of Court Street and Tennessee Street in Florence, Alabama, started by Clyde W. Anderson. The profits from the stand allowed him to buy a bookstore, which was then inherited by his sons. They opened new stores and incorporated them under the name "Bookland" in 1964.[4] Bookland survives as a subsidiary of BAM, focusing on smaller stores, though the number of their stores has shrunk significantly from what was at one point 72 locations[4] to 24 different locations[10] in the US, mostly dispersed through the Southeast.[11]

booksamillion.com[edit]

BooksAMillion.com is the website for the Books-A-Million superstore chain, launched in 1998, but is specifically listed as its own brand.[12] The site offers online dealings in essentially what the superstore also offers, including books, ebooks, toys, gifts, audio, magazines, movies, and music.[7]

Books-a-Million's stock price soared by over 1000% in one week when the company announced its updated website on November 25, 1998, a notable example of speculation during the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. The company's share price rose from around $3 previously to an all-time closing high of $38.94 on November 27 and an intra-day high of $47.00 on November 30, before quickly pulling back to around $10 two weeks later. By 2000, the share price had returned to $3.[13][14][15][16]

NetCentral[edit]

NetCentral was acquired by Books-A-Million in 1998,[4] in order to manage their recently opened website. The company is classified in "On-Line Data Base Information Retrieval" and located in Nashville, Tennessee.[17] Upon acquisition, NetCentral "designed and developed the newly refurbished web site for Books-A-Million."[4] The unit designed the current logos for Books-A-Million.[18]

2nd & Charles[edit]

2nd & Charles is a division of Books-A-Million that specializes in trading used books, audio books, CDs, DVDs, video games, game systems, vinyl records, and accessories.[19] It opened on September 25, 2010, in Hoover, Alabama, across from Riverchase Galleria. They buy and sell based on the condition and popularity of the product.[20][21] Bulk quantities of discounted remaindered books and magazines are not part of the in-stock inventory, unlike its competitor with a similar product mix in the used media space, Half Price Books.

Controversy[edit]

In 2014, Books-A-Million was identified by the publication 24/7 Wall St. as America's worst company to work for, citing low satisfaction among employees due to "high stress and low pay... low chance of promotion, [and] hours are based on magazine and discount card sales."[22] Since release of the 2014 survey, Books-A-Million's rating has risen and they were not included in the 2015 list of companies.[23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Company Profile for Books-A-Million Inc". Retrieved January 17, 2010. 
  2. ^ "Welcome to Books-A-Million, Inc." Books-A-Million. Retrieved on January 18, 2011. "Corporate Office Books-A-Million, Inc. 402 Industrial Lane Birmingham, Alabama 35211."
  3. ^ booksamillion.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f "referenceforbusiness.com profile for Books-A-Million." Accessed January 20, 2011
  5. ^ "Books-A-Million location directory." Accessed Ochober 6, 2013.
  6. ^ "BAM in NY Times." Accessed January 20, 2011
  7. ^ a b "BooksAMillion.com." Accessed January 20, 2011
  8. ^ "Books-A-Million paid $3M for Yogurt Mountain stake - Birmingham Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2013-03-03. 
  9. ^ Stegall, Sarah (2010-10-25). "Yogurt Mountain Coming Soon to Books-a-Million". TheLedger.com. Retrieved 2013-03-03. 
  10. ^ "Bookland Location Directory." Accessed January 20, 2011.
  11. ^ "Bookland Location Map." Accessed January 20, 2011
  12. ^ "BAM Corporate Profile Accessed January 20, 2011
  13. ^ "Books-A-Million, Inc. Announces Enhanced Website". The Free Library. November 25, 1998. Retrieved July 10, 2014. 
  14. ^ "CNNfn market movers". CNNfn. November 25, 1998. Retrieved July 10, 2014. 
  15. ^ "Books-A-Million (BAMM) quotes". Google Finance. 
  16. ^ "Books-A-Million (BAMM) historical prices". Google Finance. Retrieved July 10, 2014. 
  17. ^ Manta Company Profile Accessed January 20, 2011
  18. ^ here
  19. ^ "What we buy". 2nd and Charles. 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
  20. ^ Dawn Kent (September 25, 2010). "New idea in used books: 2nd and Charles opens with recycling theme". The Birmingham News. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
  21. ^ "Locations". 2nd and Charles. 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
  22. ^ America's worst companies to work for. June 21, 2014.
  23. ^ [1]

Further reading[edit]

  • Teitelbaum, Richard S. (January 25, 1993) "Companies to Watch: Books-A-Million". Fortune magazine
  • Stern, William M. (June 20, 1994) "Southern Fried Reading". Forbes magazine
  • International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 14 (1996) St. James Press

External links[edit]

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