Toadstool Bookshops named Retailer of the Year
The New Hampshire Retail Association’s New Hampshire Retailer of the Year award recognizes retailers in the state that have achieved excellence in creativity, customer service, commitment to the community and work environment. The 2021 recipient is The Toadstool Bookshops, owned by Holly and Willard Williams, Jeff Osgood and Lowell Morris, with store locations in Nashua, Peterborough and Keene. Willard Williams talked about how the Toadstool managed to stay afloat and continue to serve book lovers throughout the pandemic.
How did the Toadstool handle the first few months of the pandemic?
In late March, we had to close our doors and couldn’t be open for people to come in the store. … A lot of our sales are really based on people coming in and browsing … so we had to try to find other ways to let people know what new books were out there. We started creating different lists, like a Black Lives Matter[-inspired] list and lists of new arrivals. … Our website became really active, and we started getting a lot of orders online, and a lot of phone calls from people who wanted to pick things up curbside. We learned how to pack and ship books quickly. We’ve always had a number of in-store author events but had to stop those, of course, so we started doing them virtually, on Facebook at first, and then we started using Zoom. … It was a lot of hard work in the beginning to figure out how to do online business and virtual events and curbside, but our staff was really good about picking up on everything quickly and working together.
How were things different after you reopened?
In mid-June, we were able to let people come into the store again. We put up plexiglass barriers at the counters and, of course, put out hand sanitizer and started requiring masks for everyone. The store is large enough that we didn’t have an issue with people being able to spread out sufficiently and keep their distance. We set things up a little differently so that there’s better traffic flow. We had to take all of the chairs out of the store because we didn’t really want people sitting or lingering. The whole idea was to get people to come in, get what they want quickly, and then leave. … That was the hardest thing for us, having to tell people, ‘We want to see you; we want you to come in; but unfortunately, you can’t stay; you have to come and go quickly.’ In the good old days, people would come in, meet each other, talk, chat, gossip, but I really can’t encourage that in the store.
How are you doing, business-wise?
We were down probably about 60 percent [in sales] during March, April, May and early June. Once we were able to open again in mid-June, [sales numbers] started to come back, and in the fall they were actually better than [they were in the fall of] the previous year.
How have you taken care of your staff?
We had to cut back on staff in the beginning, unfortunately. We were able to take advantage of the PPP program from the federal government, so in early June we started bringing some [staff] back to help us out in the store. … The biggest challenge for our staff was trying to find a schedule that allowed them to stay home with their kids when they weren’t in school. … We’re pretty much back to the staff that we had before. Now we’re just trying to make sure everybody stays healthy and that our stores are a safe place to work.
How have your customers stepped up?
I know a number of people who used their stimulus checks to buy books and kind of fill up their personal libraries. We sold a lot of gift certificates — 50 percent more than we would have during that time of year — to people who just wanted to make sure that we still had the cash to survive and get through this. We’re really grateful for that. It’s been encouraging to know that people really wanted us to be here when it was all over. There were those who told us they considered us an essential business because being able to access books is so vital to their lives, and that’s been nice to hear.
How did it feel, being named New Hampshire Retailer of the Year?
We’ve been a member of the New Hampshire Retail Association for quite a number of years, but I had never been aware of the award until I heard that a local person had nominated us for it. I thought, ‘Well, that’s nice,’ but I didn’t think we would actually win. There are so many retailers in the state, and I think that anybody who’s still in business after [the pandemic] is deserving of an award. But we’ve been here for 50 years now, so it was nice to get that recognition.
How are things looking now?
It’s pretty close to normal. We still have no chairs and still don’t encourage lingering, but people can come in and browse again. We’re doing our best to make sure people enjoy being able to come into the store and get out and about while also making sure people stay safe and healthy when they come in.
Featured photo: Willard Williams with wife and Toadstool co-owner Holly Williams. Courtesy photo.
