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business Wednesday 14 OctOber 2020
Indie bookstores launch anti-Amazon 'Boxed Out' campaign

By HILLEL ITALIE sales have fallen this year
AP National Writer by double digits after a de-
NEW YORK (AP) — With cade of "steady growth."
many independent book- Her store has risen from its
store owners facing the "deepest trough" earlier
most dire financial crisis in this year, and has rehired
their lifetimes, the Ameri- some laid off workers, but
can Booksellers Associa- Stockton-Bagnulo says
tion has teamed with an Greenlight's position is still
award-winning advertising "precarious."
agency known for "culture "If shoppers could shift more
hacking" to dramatize the of their purchasing away
threats of the pandemic from Amazon to local busi-
and the growing domi- nesses like ours ... it could
nance of Amazon.com. make all the difference in
On Tuesday, the trade allowing us to survive and
group launched the thrive for years to come.
"Boxed Out" campaign, for We hope Boxed Out will
which a handful of book- have that effect," she said.
stores around the country Hill said she and the book-
will have windows boarded sellers association had
up and boxes piled up out The Amazon logo appears in Douai, northern France on April 16, 2020. been looking for a way to
front that resemble Amazon Associated Press draw attention to what in-
delivery containers, with dies were going through
one label reading "Don't Hill. bers, membership was up dropped sharply, accord- and met with several agen-
Accept Amazon's Brave Independent booksellers to 1,887, with some sellers ing to the ABA, just 30 this cies before deciding on
New World." The beginning had enjoyed a resurgence even opening additional year compared to 104 in DCX. Not all of DCX projects
of what the booksellers as- over the past decade after outlets. Hill's predecessor, 2019. have had long-term im-
sociation hopes will be a being devastated in the 20 Oren Teicher, who retired at While the overall market for pact. Payless, for instance,
conversation in stores and previous years by the rise the end of 2019, received books has been surprisingly continued to struggle after
online, "Boxed Out" was of the superstore chains an honorary National Book solid in 2020, Amazon.com the Palessi campaign, filed
designed by DCX Growth Barnes & Noble and Bor- Award earlier that year for has apparently fared best for bankruptcy in 2019 and
Accelerator, a Brooklyn- ders, and then the emer- his success in "working to as the public increasingly closed all of its U.S. stores.
based firm which attracted gence of Amazon. ABA strengthen and expand in- makes purchases online. Hill said she was more im-
national attention in 2018 membership, once more dependent bookstores na- According to a report is- pressed by a campaign
when it set up a fake "Pa- than 5,000, was down to tionwide." sued last week by the an- from 2015 on behalf of
lessi" luxury shoe store and just 1,401 in 2009 during the But the pandemic could titrust subcommittee of the Jesse's bodega in Brooklyn,
stocked it with items from height of the Great Reces- wipe out all the gains since House Judiciary Commit- near the headquarters of
the Payless discount chain. sion and was apparently 2009. An ABA survey from tee, "Amazon accounts for DCX. Owner Jesse Itayim
"Boxed Out" coincides with set to keep declining as e- this summer found that over half of all print book faced eviction after the
Amazon Prime Day, when books began to catch on. some 20 percent of mem- sales and over 80% of e- landlord sought a 250 per-
the online giant offers spe- But the digital revolution bers could go out of busi- book sales" in the U.S. mar- cent rent hike, so DCX de-
cial deals to its members. stalled, Borders went out ness, meaning hundreds of ket. vised an "Artisanal Landlord
"We're hoping that people of business and Barnes stores face closure, espe- Greenlight Bookstore in Price Hike Sale" that fea-
will understand the juxta- & Noble retreated after cially as government aid Brooklyn is among the par- tured exorbitant costs for
position and support their a long era of expansion. runs out. Meanwhile, the ticipating stores in "Boxed such rebranded items as
local stores," says booksell- In 2019, the last time the number of new indepen- Out." Co-owner Jessica "Grass Fed Himalayan Tuna
ers association CEO Allison ABA released yearly num- dent stores opening has Stockton-Bagnulo says that Salad." q

Boeing’s struggles continue: No jetliner sales in September

By The Associated Press ders so far this year, but it Boeing said it delivered 11
Boeing failed to sell any air- has suffered 448 cancel- new commercial planes
line planes last month and lations for the Max and last month, mostly twin-aisle
suffered more cancella- dropped another 602 or- 787s, compared with 25
tions of a grounded jetlin- ders from its backlog be- last September. The com-
er, further evidence of the cause the company isn't pany delivered 98 planes
company's battle to over- sure it can complete the this year, through Sept. 30,
come a drop in air travel sales with so many airlines compared with 301 in the
during the pandemic and in financial trouble. same period of 2019. The
crashes involving the 737 The 737 Max was Boeing's decline in deliveries is cru-
Max. best-selling plane until it cial because Boeing gets
The company said Tues- was grounded in March the bulk of cash from sales
day that three Max orders 2019 after two crashes that when jets are delivered.
were canceled in Septem- killed 346 people. In Au- Chicago-based Boeing
ber and it dropped orders gust, the company booked Co. has laid off thousands
for 48 more Max jets be- its first Max order of 2020, of workers this year. While Traffic passes in view of a massive Boeing airplane production
cause of uncertainty about from a Polish airline. Boeing it chose not to seek gov- plant, Oct. 1, 2020, in Everett, Wash.
whether customers will be hopes to win U.S. approval ernment pandemic-relief Associated Press
able to close the deals. by year-end for the Max to funds, the company has
Boeing has booked 67 or- return to service. raised billions in private credit to get through the downturn.q