Atlantic Books closing its doors
After 36 years in business, Atlantic Books is closing its doors. Its last Cape Region store on Route 1 in Rehoboth Beach will close no later than Tuesday, Feb. 28.
The store is in the midst of a going-out-of-business sale, and Atlantic Books President Mark Simon said the sale would last as long as there is merchandise to sell. He said the sale would probably end at the end of January.
Atlantic had two locations in the Cape Region: the highway store and one in downtown Rehoboth. The downtown store closed in 2010.
On its website, the company said the company blames the rapidly changing landscape of retail bookselling for the closure, referring to internet shopping sites and e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle.
“The convenience factor appears to outweigh most other issues, at least currently. These factors have negated the value of large, full service bookstores as the inventory requirements continue to decrease, making large spaces harder to fill with salable merchandise. This is not unlike what has happened to the music and video business,” Simon said.
“At this juncture there is no plan to continue our business on line. Because of the expensive barriers to entry into internet sales, we do not see it as a realistic alternative,” Simon said.
He said he received many notes from customers saddened that the store is closing, although ironically many of them came via e-mail.
“I guess that even though the public decries the impending loss of the bound book, we are all seduced by computers and electronic communication,” Simon said.
Atlantic not only inspired customer loyalty, but loyalty from its employees. Simon said many worked for the store for years and shopped at Atlantic before working there. He also said it’s become clear that Atlantic’s closing was more than just another retail store closing. However, the store still faced the reality of the times.
“The days of the chain bookstore are numbered. The future – as did the past – belongs to the smaller, community-centric store that is locally owned and operated. But it has been our privilege to serve the Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania communities where we were located for the last 36 years,” Simon said.
Ryan Mavity covers Milton and the court system. He is married to Rachel Swick Mavity and has two kids, Alex and Jane. Ryan started with the Cape Gazette all the way back in February 2007, previously covering the City of Rehoboth Beach. A native of Easton, Md. and graduate of Towson University, Ryan enjoys watching the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Capitals and Baltimore Orioles in his spare time.
