Thanks to Julia Chance, who provided this link to a Washington Post article about the recent Karibu Bookstore chain closings. According to the article, co-owner Simba Sana says, “Karibu’s demise is a result of the ownership, including myself, failure to resolve conflict in a peaceful way and also a failure to end relationships amicably.”
The article goes on to report that Sana wanted to go national, but co-owner Hoke Glover thought it was not feasible to attempt that level of expansion. Apparently, a recent divorce also impacted the stores in a negative way, impacting title availability.
This makes an already sad story even sadder. If the problem was not money, but a disagreement over growth, what does the closing of the largest chain of African American bookstores over these disputes say about the state of Black business in general?
Author Christopher Chambers, who frequently provides comments for this blog, is quoted in the article. Chambers offers a sense of what this sudden news means to writers and readers of African American fiction.
There seems to be a contradictory report in a Baltimore Sun article Julia also provided. In this article, Sana is quoted again:
“In a phone interview, Sana blamed internal management problems for the financial plight of the book chain. He said the company owed vendors thousands of dollars and planned to file for bankruptcy.
‘The blame falls squarely on myself and others in the company,’ Sana said.
‘The financial position was a downward spiral,’ he added. ‘I would need a miracle to pay back all the debt now.'”
What’s the real deal here? Maybe Chris Chambers can provide some clarity.
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I think the answer is both. Vision affects the financial aspect and finance affects vision. You don’t have to be Bill gates to understand that. Lonnae (O’Neal parker) with the Post spoke to Simba and few folk but she was on a scoop deadline, so perhaps given the fallout Simba’s talking more. Hoke is still clammed up as of 230pm Thurs. I think the key is that while neither was down with the street fiction and Video Vixen crap, one perhaps saw it as a tool and the other did not. However, as I’ve said, as an indie seller if you want to continue to get people in the door, away from big box stores that can sell the ignorant yet bestselling stuff cheaper and in huge quantities, you must offer more and showcase more, and have a staff that can educate the consumers and in turn create a clientele over and above folk who just want to supporta black business, or who live near PG Plaza Mall. I know they were trying hard for that, but despite the committment and the inventory of hard to find stuff, they just let folk walk in, buy Noire and Terri Woods and the like, and leave. Hell, I can do that at Costco.
Yet in the end, like Heath Ledger, we’ll never have a smoking gun.
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Thanks for that, Chris!
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I find this level of concern over this matter a poor use of your talent and resources. Shock of all shock, there are racist. SFW, BFD, is that news? Are you surprised? Think about it, who cars about this publication, you’re only feeding into the hype and actually exposing them to people who would otherwise not give’em any attention or concern at all.
Your problem? This is the obvious, the easy target to hit out of the park. Requires no skill, talent, or even intelligence to address this. Now if you want to be relevant, actually say something about something that matters and is significant, why don’t you speak to Bob Johnson slinging mud on Obama and referencing his cocaine use and marginalizing him today, for some youthful experimentation?
But that would mean you addressing Black on Black shameful behavior. It’s far more significant when a Bob Johnson says what he did about Obama, than some newspaper no one cares about. Step up to something relevant, will you?
And Bill Clinton’s certainly said some outrageous things about Obama, the “fairy tale” speech and all that. I have found Bob Johnson and Bill Clinton to be the spokesmen of demeaning speech about Obama, their words are far more damaging.
The real question is do you have the skill set, intelligence, and talent to dissect the subtle nature of empowered people that are degrading of Obama in their speech? People who matter?
Step up your game if you want to make a difference.
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It seems the closing of Karibu Books has to do with a conflict between the owners and not a financial downturn, which I would almost welcome –ead these pieces in the The Washington Post and Publishers Weekly. I was set to rail against the behemoths Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com, both plowing their way through a field of closed bookstores. I was ready to blame everyone around me –we, including myself, just don’t read the way we once did. The Internet, iPods, cable TV, XM Radio, video games continue to whittle the time we commit to reading. Public transportation has become the default reading room.
So. just when I thought Karibu would be martyred and its demise lead to a possible reading resurgence it turns out that the end is akin spat between brothers. I’ve always admired Sana and Bro Yao (who, of the two, I personally know). Book selling is not an easy game, low margins and high overhead for “bricks and mortar.” Now add to the mix business views that are not in sync and you have the making of a bookstore closing.
I get the sense that both will re-emerge separate and stronger, still in the book business. Sometimes its not enough to move on. You must tear down the old house before you can build anew. It may take a while but I hope that the partners will make a statement –joint or separate– affirming their friendship before this degrades into “Britney/KFed” gossip.