Toronto, ON, January 31, 2012 —After more than 20 years as the largest business book store in North America, Books for Business will be closing its bricks and mortar location at 120 Adelaide St West, Toronto on March 30^th, 2012.

Books for Business has long been a favourite shopping destination for Bay Street’s financial leaders, hosting many high-profile events for authors and publishers in downtown Toronto. However a combination of lower consumer purchasing at store level combined with increased costs in having a downtown physical location has led the business to phase out its store.

“The world of media retail has changed, and physical retail stores for media (books, music and video) are becoming increasingly unviable,” says Neville, a veteran of the book industry, “We made the decision early last year to shift our long-term focus to phone and online orders. We made changes at the store to see if we could get improved performance, but there was not meaningful success.”

Unlike recent closures of other Toronto based book stores, Books for Business’s plan to move exclusively online is viewed as a strategic plan to grow the business and improve profits. With this plan, Books for Business will grow its warehouse capacity by 500% at its Oakville corporate office before the close of the retail store.

“At Books for Business, corporate and specialty orders are our bread and butter. Those customers, some of the biggest companies and most recognized individuals in Canadian business, have told us with their buying behaviour that they prefer to deal by internet or by phone. We are responding to that.”

The Books for Business online store at www.booksforbusiness.ca will continue to serve both corporations and individual shoppers, with an easy–to-use shopping interface that helps busy professionals find the best business books. The new online store also gives shoppers more than 10 times the selection available in the retail store.

Brenda Bickram, a key employee with Books for Business for more than 10 years, will continue to head up the corporate sales business after the store closing.

“I am firmly committed to continue serving corporate Canada with hands on service, as I have been for over 10 years at Books for Business.” says Bickram, “And whether the customer is ordering just one copy or a thousand copies, they’re going to have a great experience shopping from a dedicated business book seller.”

Company History

Since 1991, Books for Business has been the largest and most comprehensive business book store in North America. Books for Business is privately owned, with corporate headquarters in Oakville, ON.  Customers can purchase online or contact a team of professional book associates for personalized assistance at 1-800-387-1417. For more information, contact Sean Neville, CEO at sean@booksforbusiness.com.

Click here to download the press release from Books for Business.

This month, Books for Business is proud to feature titles from the Extraordinary Canadians Series by Penguin Books. With compelling authors like Vincent Lam and Andrew Cohen, read about some of the pioneers of Canadian culture and history, including Tommy Douglas, Maurice Richard and Lester Pearson. Available in-store and online.

This holiday season, give the gift of professionally wrapped titles to friends, family and business associates. Purchase any book in store and receive free on-the-spot gift wrapping, with tasteful silver paper and premium white  and silver organza wire ribbon, plus a glossy Books for Business gift tag.

Sending Gifts Out of Town?

Talk to our friendly store staff about having your present boxed and shipped to any location in North America. To ensure delivery before Christmas, we suggest making your purchase before Monday December 12th, 2011.

Books for Business wants to know – which speaker are you most excited about at the Art of Sales Conference, happening November 22nd in Toronto?

Managers know that a great way to stay ahead of your competition is to have your employees keep up with new business practices and trends. Books for Business would like all businesses to thrive, while saving you money in the process. This is why we are offering deep discounts and special service on bulk and corporate orders over 10 books. To place your order, simply contact Brenda Bickram at 1-800-387-1417 ext. 201 for prompt and professional service.

Build Your Corporate Library
Give your employees an edge and keep them engaged with access to the best professional books in a corporate library.
Not sure what titles to choose? Our expert team can recommend lists of titles to suit every operational group from sales to customer service to finance.

Corporate Culture Management
Is everyone on the same page in your company?
Ensure that important themes, ideas, and skills are consistent through your company by giving one or two important books to every team member for personal reading.
Alternatively, choose a book that inspires, in order to motivate your team to greater success.

Training, Workshops and Speakers
Boost your next training session or corporate workshop with books and training materials around your chosen topic.
Hosting a private speaking engagement? We work with authors and publishers to provide books for your event, from 10 to 10,000 attendees.

Corporate Gifts and Employee Recognition
Build your professional relationships with vendors, clients and trade associates by giving business books, with fast shipping anywhere in North America.
Recognize outstanding employee performance and inspire professional self-education by rewarding staff with business titles.FREE gift wrapping in-store!

Suggested Titles for Corporate Libraries

Short history – our web headquarters in Oakville, ON Canada is situated in a larger building with a small parking lot, and our assigned spots were frequently taken up by our friendly neighbors.

Think these signs will help?