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Independent bookstores are thriving, but a threat looms

This isn’t a bad time to be in the independent bookstore business. The American Booksellers Association says there’s been a nearly 31 percent increase in the number of indie bookstores since 2009. The indie renaissance coincides with the collapse of national book chains. One threat to bookstores’ future: rising rents and labor costs. Click the […]

Could the "indie renaissance" that has been helping independent bookstores thrive also cause their downfall?
Could the "indie renaissance" that has been helping independent bookstores thrive also cause their downfall?
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

This isn’t a bad time to be in the independent bookstore business. The American Booksellers Association says there’s been a nearly 31 percent increase in the number of indie bookstores since 2009. The indie renaissance coincides with the collapse of national book chains. One threat to bookstores’ future: rising rents and labor costs.

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