Profile of McNally Robinson

This week’s Macleans has an excellent profile on the sucess of McNally Robinson Booksellers.

With stores in Saskatoon, Calgary and Manhattan, McNally Robinson, named bookstore of the year a record five times by the Canadian Booksellers Association, has become one of Canada’s largest independent book chains. It has doubled its $30-million revenue since 2000 and will grow again in 2008, adding two new stores, including its first in Ontario, in the Toronto suburb of Don Mills. Two months ago, the Times of London’s literary editor, Erica Wagner, named McNally Robinson as her favourite bookstore in New York City on the Charlie Rose show, drawing a knowing nod from the esteemed PBS host.

I’ve personally never been to the Canadian stores, but the one in New York is one of my favorite bookstores in the world. The look, the feel, the selection, and the all-star staff are all amazing.

To me, the most interesting part of this article is the story of the flagship store’s origins:

In 1995, a publisher friend warned Paul of the mega-chains steamrolling across the U.S. The McNallys hired a babysitter, hopped in the car and drove to Minneapolis-St.Paul — which had absorbed seven superstores in the previous year. They visited every bookstore in the Twin Cities. “The independents were just gasping for oxygen,” says Paul, 60, whose manicured salt-and-pepper beard and chic blue runners give him the air of an architect. But people streamed into Borders at 10 p.m. On the darkened U.S. I-29, driving home, the McNallys made the bold decision to shutter two of their highly profitable small stores, take on an enormous loan, and reinvent. Up against Goliath, they would fight superstore with superstore. As Winnipeg icons like Mary Scorer Books and Heaven and Art Book Cafe fell, McNally redux became an instant hit.