Support Andover Bookstore
The Andover Bookstore has been a fixture in downtown Andover since 1809. We are the oldest continually operating bookstore in the United States. In the 211 years that we have been part of the Andover community, we have worked hard to be the bookstore we felt this community deserved: curated literature, numerous events, a great staff, and a meaningful place within the community. For more than 200 years we supplied the textbooks and all of the clothing and spirit gear for Phillips Academy, creating numerous memories for generations of day students and students from around the globe that spent their prep school years in the Town of Andover. Over the years, we have created jobs, brought authors to town, paid our fair share of taxes, given back to nonprofits and schools, and built a community.
We have creatively found ways to deal with the onslaught of big box stores, online shopping, eReaders, and, in 2018, we faced the massive Merrimac Valley Gas Explosion Crisis that closed us down for days and changed the retail buying habits of the town for the subsequent 4 months. In each of those times we found ways to get by--we moved, we changed product mix, and reduced staffing. We always survived. But now we are faced with a perilous situation. Due to Covid-19 and the fact that we are closed to the public, we are running out of cash to pay our rent, utilities, payroll, liabilities, and publishers, and make sure we have enough cash on-hand to re-open once we make it through. We are making a small amount through our website and very much appreciate all of your support, but it is not enough to pay our rent and our payroll.
We are asking for your immediate support. Funds given to this campaign will help us weather this storm and make sure we can ultimately reach our goal, which is to keep this business afloat and exist in Andover for another 200 years! Even once this pandemic passes, we are unsure what the market will look like when we can re-open to the public, what the book buying abilities of our community will be, and how quickly we can ramp up our operations once again. This campaign will help support The Andover Bookstore both in the immediate future and over the next several months.
If you can give any amount, we are truly grateful. If not, there are other ways to support us and other small bookstores facing these unprecedented times, such as following social media accounts, buying gift cards, ordering books online from their websites, and lending a kind word.
Thank you,
The Hugo Family
Vickie, Karen, Karen and Chris, and the hundreds of great people who have worked in the bookstore over the past couple hundred years.
#SmallBusinessRelief
We have creatively found ways to deal with the onslaught of big box stores, online shopping, eReaders, and, in 2018, we faced the massive Merrimac Valley Gas Explosion Crisis that closed us down for days and changed the retail buying habits of the town for the subsequent 4 months. In each of those times we found ways to get by--we moved, we changed product mix, and reduced staffing. We always survived. But now we are faced with a perilous situation. Due to Covid-19 and the fact that we are closed to the public, we are running out of cash to pay our rent, utilities, payroll, liabilities, and publishers, and make sure we have enough cash on-hand to re-open once we make it through. We are making a small amount through our website and very much appreciate all of your support, but it is not enough to pay our rent and our payroll.
We are asking for your immediate support. Funds given to this campaign will help us weather this storm and make sure we can ultimately reach our goal, which is to keep this business afloat and exist in Andover for another 200 years! Even once this pandemic passes, we are unsure what the market will look like when we can re-open to the public, what the book buying abilities of our community will be, and how quickly we can ramp up our operations once again. This campaign will help support The Andover Bookstore both in the immediate future and over the next several months.
If you can give any amount, we are truly grateful. If not, there are other ways to support us and other small bookstores facing these unprecedented times, such as following social media accounts, buying gift cards, ordering books online from their websites, and lending a kind word.
Thank you,
The Hugo Family
Vickie, Karen, Karen and Chris, and the hundreds of great people who have worked in the bookstore over the past couple hundred years.
#SmallBusinessRelief
