Anderson’s Bookshops has started a GoFundMe page to help support their business after suffering financial losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Future Uncertain:
Their GoFundMe page details how the bookseller has been hit hard by the stay at home order that has restricted their cash flow and vital foot traffic business. They say without it, “our future is uncertain.”
Though they have made it through competition from big box stores, Internet sellers, and e-reading, this latest crisis poses their greatest threat.
They write on their GoFundMe page, “It’s hit us all hard and stifled our world. We may not all be infected, but we are all affected,” telling the public that they need their help.
Support Needed:
Anderson’s has three locations: Downers Grove, LaGrange and Naperville, and also has a school bookfair division in Aurora. All need support to pay rents and employees.
The GoFundMe page refers readers to the Save Indie Bookstores website which describes the small profit margins independent booksellers operate on during what’s considered a good day. With a fully functional brick-and-mortar site taken out of the equation, many indie bookstores face the real possibility of permanent closure.
$100,000 Goal for GoFundMe:
The GoFundMe page has a targeted goal of $100,000. At the time of this article, about $34,400 had been met.
Anderson’s Bookshops History:
Anderson’s Bookshops traces its beginnings back to 1875, when Naperville was just a farming town. That’s when the family’s great-great-grandfather opened W. W. Wickel Pharmacy, which was the town’s go-to spot for books, gifts and toys.
In 1964, their grandfather opened the Paperback Paradise bookshop above the pharmacy.
That eventually grew into what is now known as Anderson’s Bookshops, with their Downers Grove location starting in 1980, then their children’s wholesale warehouse following in 1982, their LaGrange shop in 2015, and Anderson’s Toyshop in Naperville in 2016.
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