By DAVID BROOKS

When Michael Herrmann bought Gibson’s Bookstore in 1994 and started the journey that has taken him through three different Main Street locations and brought him to the title of 2024’s New Hampshire Retailer of the Year, you have to expect that he was following a carefully thought-out plan to succeed in the Capital City.

Well, maybe not.

“I could find Concord on a map, that’s about it, that’s all I knew” when he decided to buy Gibson’s, Herrmann said Tuesday. “I hadn’t even been thinking of a bookstore.”

Herrmann came to Concord because a decade working for a fabric manufacturing firm in New York City had left him wanting to move out of the city. He spotted a small ad saying “New England businesses for sale” and a business broker introduced him to Gibson’s, an independent store that dates back to 1898 and at the time had been owned by Jeff Haight for two decades. “Once the idea (of a bookstore) came up, it seemed a real natural,” he said.

The store, started by W.C. Gibson partly as an outlet to sell his picture postcards, was then in the space now occupied by Bread & Chocolate. Herrmann, 67, later moved to the spot now filled by Vibes Burgers, and in 2013 moved again, becoming the anchor retail tenant in the newly opened Smile Building at 49 S. Main St.

The store’s 12,000 square feet was 50% bigger than the previous space. Herrmann filled it partly by purchasing children’s book and toy store Imagination Village, creating a stand-alone children’s section, along with Gibson’s Cafe. This retail triumvirate has become a staple of downtown, six blocks from the State House, a block away from the Capitol Center for the Arts and across the street from the new Isabella Apartments.

There was a time when the idea that an independent bookstore could be a 21st-century retail lynchpin sounded ridiculous. The rise of chain stores Barnes & Noble and Borders Books in the 1990s and then online juggernaut Amazon, which started as a bookstore, seemed to spell independents’ demise.

But to many people’s surprise, independent stores are doing well, particularly post-COVID. The American Booksellers Association, a trade group for independent bookstores, says roughly 200 such stores opened in the U.S. in 2023 and sales are robust.

Herrmann says things began to turn around as early as 2011, when Borders went bankrupt. By 2019, he said, Gibson’s was humming along, fueled by a knowledgeable staff catering to customers who wanted more than efficiency and the lowest price. The pandemic hit hard, as it did for every business, but Gibson’s already had an online store thanks in large part to expertise from the ABA trade group.

“It feels like a very long time ago, even though it was just five years – it feels like a different world,” Herrmann said of the pandemic lockdown. “Sales were very depressed but we still made it, kept everyone on staff.”

“The state and federal governments stepped up in a big way,” he added, pointing to the WorkShare program that supplemented salaries. Having a big store also helped, since people could maintain social distance while browsing.

After the pandemic eased, Herrmann said, Gibson’s sales returned. They’re now about 25% higher than before COVID arrived, he said, although that’s partly a function of much higher book prices. Gibson’s has 13 ½ full-time equivalent positions and a total of 22 staff.

Literary fiction and serious non-fiction remains the anchor of the store but there’s plenty of variety, from used books to the graphic novels called manga to pamphlets featuring famous speeches to poetry, coffee-table books and study guides.

“Genre fiction has exploded,” Herrmann said. “Young adult remains very strong.”

Audiobooks are a small but steady seller through the Libro.fm site, a competitor to the Audible brand that sells through independent stores. Digital electric books are another matter: “E-books are a struggle. We’re still trying to figure that out.”

Gibson’s also sells a number of non-book items, some as varied as “secular saint” candles featuring the likes of singer Freddie Mercury and painter Frida Kahlo. And events are important: The store hosts more than 100 speakers or author signings each year, drawing potential customers but also cementing the community.

Although Gibson’s occupies what has to be one of the more expensive storefronts in the city on a per-square-foot basis, Herrmann says he wouldn’t want to move.

“There are a lot of advantages of being right here. This whole section of Concord is just popping right now,” he said. Foot traffic remains high and there’s enough parking on the streets and nearby lots.

“I used to be more concerned about parking than I am now. So long as there’s sufficient parking, you don’t need to get every extra space you can. If you put up a good operation, people will find their way to you.”

Gibson’s was given the 2024 New Hampshire Retailer of the Year Award by the New Hampshire Retail Association, a statewide trade group. “For over a century, Gibson’s has set the standard for what it means to be a community-focused, independent bookstore, enriching lives through books, local partnerships, and a dedication to their customers,” said Curtis Picard, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Retail Association, in a press statement.