Comparative literature

Logan Fox says he's tired. But as the owner and founder of Micawber Books strides purposefully down Nassau Street on a blustery Wednesday afternoon, it's hard to see it. His hazel eyes have no tell-tale bags beneath them, and his fresh, clean-shaven face brings to mind someone younger than 48. Fox is tall, almost six-feet, two-inches, and he has a full head of rich, dark hair.

Fox reaches into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes and matches. "There just hasn't been any down time this year at all," Fox says, trying to explain. Since the middle of the summer, his small store has been straining to handle a lot of unexpected business.

"We're handling all the textbooks for 110 courses," he says. "It's a big money-maker and it gets you seen by a lot of students, but all the ordering is so labor-intensive that it almost isn't worth it." Fox shakes his head — the wind is playing havoc with his attempts to light a cigarette.

Without warning, a passer-by interrupts him. "Hey, Logan! It's good to see you," she says.

A tall, older woman in a dark blue coat smiles at him as they stop on the sidewalk to chat. In the course of walking only one-and-a-half blocks, Fox runs into four people he knows — they range from a fellow Nassau St. shopkeeper to a University graduate student.

"We first opened Micawber 20 years ago, and I guess being here that long makes you kind of a fixture in a small town," he says wryly. For Fox, a resident of Manhattan for 12 years, Princeton is tiny. He takes a drag off his finally-lit cigarette and continues. "Now that my kids are college-aged or close to it, I think they're all pretty sick of this place and ready to get out," he says. "For them it's just getting too familiar."

And just as Fox and his family have grown accustomed to the town, Princeton's faculty and students have become familiar with him and his store.

Six years ago, Fox did not sell textbooks for University courses. But when a group of faculty members — including Michael Cadden, the director of the theater and dance program — asked Fox to sell books for their classes, he agreed.

"A couple of years ago, the U-Store was totally incompetent and totally unresponsive to the needs and demands of professors and our classes," said Cadden, who teaches ENG 354: Modern Drama. "They gave us no information, and we'd find out the day before classes started that they didn't have the books. But this was a number of years ago, and I understand that the U-Store has gotten much better."

To avoid using the U-Store, Cadden and the other professors "begged [Micawber] to start stocking textbooks." And though he said Fox was hesitant at first, Cadden explained that Fox "took this on as a task in part to help out those of us who were regular customers."

At the U-Store, Gina Walker, the store manager, said she and her coworkers are aware of professors' complaints. Walker explained that the U-Store has hired a new "textbook manager" who will be in charge of calling up department secretaries on campus to set up appointments with individual professors. One of the textbook manager's jobs will be to figure out how to remedy the problems that have plagued the relationship between some faculty members and the U-Store in past years.

"We know we've lost some business to Micawber, and we would love to have that business back," she said. "We are there to serve the students and if they are having problems, we are always willing to listen to their suggestions and we want to hear their opinions."

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Though selling textbooks is not as profitable as selling other books, Fox said getting students into his store is one of his primary concerns.

"We got into it on the request of some professors who had been long-time regular customers," Fox explained. But he noted that textbooks are a "very low mark-up business," meaning that retailers increase textbook prices by a smaller percentage than other books.

"When you take into account the man hours and the returns and the postage, it's not terribly profitable. Textbooks are usually a 20- to 25-percent mark-up, whereas other books have a 40-percent mark-up," he said. "You usually just hope for volume. The money isn't that great."

Though Fox is quick to say that it is unfair to call the U-Store "incompetent," there is certainly a block of professors on campus who prefer Micawber to the U-Store. And, as a result, some faculty members still see no reason to go back.

Religion professor Albert Raboteau began using Micawber to supply books for his courses two years ago and said he has had no problems with Fox's store.

"The relationship with Micawber has been very successful," he said. "It's good to support independent booksellers, and students in my courses haven't had any problems at all."

Raboteau added, however, that he was not satisfied with the U-Store when it supplied his books. "If we can't change the current situation, then we should just do what Harvard and Yale have done and just handle books through a Barnes and Noble," he noted. "Of course that wouldn't really support the independent booksellers very much."

And while more and more University professors choose to use Micawber, Fox said he is not worried about taking on too much business.

"We always have had a cut-off [number of courses] that we would take," Fox noted, adding that he turned down offers to supply textbooks for 10 to 15 more courses this semester.

In an era when America's small businesses and local downtowns are disappearing under pressure from shopping malls and chain stores, it would seem that Fox should be getting out as well.

But he isn't.

Fox has lasted in Princeton because Micawber is thriving while so many other small businesses have struggled and failed.

Because of its independent status, Micawber doesn't have the financial flexibility and leverage that chain stores possess — leverage that allows those stores to charge lower prices. Fox is quick to point out, however, that newspapers across the country are reporting that the supposed "discount" chain bookstores like Barnes and Noble are no longer charging discount prices. Nevertheless, during the past 10 years, the American Booksellers Association places the number of registered store closings at more than 1,000, nearly 25 percent of its membership in 1990.

And the trend shows no sign of slowing.

So why hasn't Micawber become a victim?

Part of the answer lies in Fox's business sense. "Logan basically reminds us that if we don't force ourselves to get it right, then who will?" said Margaret Knapp, who helped rescue Micawber from financial trouble seven years ago when she became Fox's co-owner.

For example, Fox always pays attention to details. As he leaves the store near closing time, Fox reminds everyone that even though other shops on Nassau Street don't do it, the staffer who sweeps up at the end of the day needs to clear off the sidewalk in front of the shop as well.

A young staffer asks why. He turns and looks at her: "Because it's just important," he says.

Fox has also imbued his business with a commitment to personal service, employees point out. "We all do everything, so we all know every part of the book-selling business. There's no hierarchy here," said Eleanor Burnette, an employee who has worked at Micawber for two significant stints during the past 14 years.

"People can come here and get help from a knowledgeable staff that loves books," she added. "We care about service, and we get people the books they need."

And several students agreed that the service at Micawber is better than at the U-Store. Aino Wheler '01, a student who has bought several books at Micawber, said, "It's almost more personable [than the U-Store]. I guess that like everywhere it depends on the time of day and the person. But I like the store — I did my Christmas shopping there last year. I like the layout, and it's easy for things to jump out at you," he said.

Andrew Darlington '02 said the service at Micawber makes it an attractive place to shop. "I have no problems with the U-Store, but . . . I like supporting other bookstores other than the University's. They are always ready to order anything you need," he said.

Micawber actually consists of two adjacent stores — one side deals in rare books, and the other handles just about everything else. Both sides are long, narrow and brightly lit. Knapp said that when she and Fox worked with a remodeling architect, they wanted the store to feel like a stroll down Broadway. Fox added that in the coming months, he intends to install an indoor passage between the two stores to help integrate the flow of traffic.

When Fox is working, he glides constantly with a purpose, darting to pick up a cardboard box and then returning to answer the questions of both employees and customers. The uninformed book-buyer wouldn't notice any difference from other employees — he carries no air of self-importance and shares in all the jobs and small chores, from helping customers with Christmas shopping to stocking the shelves with new arrivals.

But it's clear that Fox knows his material. "He knows every book on every shelf in every section," said Brian O'Toole '03, a regular Micawber customer. And indeed, Fox is constantly pointing customers in the direction of the fiction books or a particular author.

"I started the store with $30,000, and half of the books on the shelves came straight from my own personal collection," he recalled. Under the circumstances, what name could be more perfect than "Micawber," the penniless, debt-ridden character from Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" who is always telling his panicked wife, "Don't worry. Something good will just turn up, dear."

Fox spent the summer of 1981 driving around New Jersey in an old Volkswagen bus, looking for places to buy used books cheaply. "At the beginning," he said, "we'd be lucky to do $300 in sales a day."

Fast-forward 20 years: Micawber Books is 7,000 square-feet, and daily sales in peak seasons have increased more than 10-fold. International luminaries Bill Bradley '65 and University professor Toni Morrison have both held book-signings and readings at Micawber, and inside, there is a wall of framed photographs that features other established or promising authors who have been invited to visit.

In a market dominated by the U-Store and enormous chains on U.S. Route 1, Micawber Books has managed, somehow, to find a niche. And it's no surprise that Logan Fox is tired.