Can Bull Moose Survive Where Borders Couldn’t?

In an earlier version of this post, our photo caption described Portland, Maine as Bull Moose’s “original stomping grounds.”  The company actually opened its first store in Brunswick, Maine.  We regret the error. 

The fate of prime strip mall real estate in New England might not be sealed just yet.  The hallowed halls of Borders Books stores aren’t even, well…hollow, and another bookseller is looking at swooping in.  Instead of a national chain like Books-A-Million, the prospective buyer is Portland-based (and Rooseveltian-named) Bull Moose, according to the Bangor Daily News.  Reporter Matt Wickenheiser quotes Bull Moose founder Brett Wickard as saying the chain’s, “bidding on a handful of leases, all in New England.”

Bryan Bruchman / Flickr

Bull Moose outpost in Portland, Maine.

And while Borders continues to tie its decline to the rise of internet-based commerce and reading, Wickard told th Bangor Daily News,

“The physical book is far from dead. People just want to buy them for a price as low as they can find online. So, by bidding on some of Borders’ leases, we look to bring our 35 percent off books price model to larger locations to reach even more people.”

And according to the article, Wickard’s got the numbers to back up the pro-physical-books bluster.

“The chain added books to the Bangor and Scarborough stores last year, and are reporting double-digit year-over-year sales, said Wickard. In addition to the Bangor and Scarborough stores, Bull Moose has operations in Portland, Brunswick, Sanford, North Windham, Waterville, Lewiston, Portsmouth, N.H., and Salem, N.H., employing about 150 people.”

If Bull Moose survived the mass die-off of the old-school music store, maybe it can thrive as a bookseller where Borders couldn’t.  But on the surface, the stocking strategy for the two chains sounds almost the same.  So does the secret to brick-and-mortar bookselling success lie in catering to gamers by keeping the shelves stocked with the latest version of Call To Action?  Or does success lie in staying small and regional, where you can keep up with the buying quirks of a smaller customer base?  And will Bull Moose try to make deeper inroads into New Hampshire?