Two Richmond book sellers have reached the final chapter in their retail operations and will be closing their doors next month.
Both Black Bond Books at Lansdowne Centre and the Chapters store on Ackroyd Road are shutting down May 31 and are in the midst of sales to liquidate their stock.
Cathy Jesson, owner of privately run Black Bond Books, said sales over the last year at the Lansdowne Centre store dropped 25 per cent signalling the decision to end its near decade at the mall.
Jesson owed declining sales to competition from online sources, chronic low traffic in the mall, changing demographics in Richmond that has English as a second language for increasingly more residents, and the lure of big box-style sellers, although she was surprised to learn the local Chapters was also closing.
On Wednesday, signs posted on the Chapter's front windows advertised a 50 per cent closing sale discount on some merchandise.
"Like every great retailer, we review lease arrangements for all of our store locations when they near expiry," said company spokeswoman Janet Eger.
Recently, Chapters closed two locations in Toronto.
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