June 17, 2009

McNally Robinson a BE DiFFERENT Bookseller

I recently did an event at the McNally Robinson store in Don Mills Ontario to promote my book; they clearly understand how to BE DiFFERENT in a very competitive market with heavy weight Chapters/Indigo having extensive coverage throughout the country.

What makes McNally’s DiFFERENT? It starts when you enter the store. The atmosphere is warm. You feel gently surrounded by books of many types each with their own story to tell. People are smiling and friendly; they obviously enjoy what they do. The store layout is easy to navigate with a well thought-out plan that addresses categories that are popular as well as related to one another. Finding what you want is easy and stressless.

McNally’s has a book event every evening of the week featuring new books and their authors. These are informal sessions where I had 20-25 minutes to talk to the audience about my work and answer questions with coffee afterwards. People were interested in my book; McNally’s has created an environment that invites people in to explore new books and get to know new authors. Bravo!

The store has a restaurant (yes, with good Ontario wine) where you can get a full selection of food ranging from snacks to a steak dinner. They use this facility in a BE DiFFERENT way. They package a lunch for example with a well-known author personality who comes in and talks about their work. When I was there for example there was a luncheon event featuring Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. Brilliant!

The children’s section is a delight to experience. Books and popular toys pervade the area inviting adults to do the right thing for the early readers.

They know how to plan Events as well. My event went off like clockwork and the author is felt important and at home.I had the opportunity to spend the better part of an hour with co-owner Tory McNally to talk about her business and get a feel for the culture they are trying to create.

Bottom line….. a BE DiFFERENT organization with enlightened leadership. I look forward to the day when they open a store in Vancouver.
Cheers, Roy Osing

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Posted 6.17.09 at 03:10 am by Roy Osing | Read Comments (1) | Leave a Comment