Is It Too Late To Save Webster's?

If you've been reading our blog, you know there's a huge grassroots movement all across the country urging people to shop locally. From Maine to California, people are becoming more educated about how shopping at independently owned businesses positively affects your community's economy. There's The 3/50 Project and The 10% Solution, there's BuyLocal groups in almost every city and town in the U.S., but is it enough to save Webster's?

Webster's has been suffering a decline of business for years now and the family has been fighting hard to make ends meet here. The big box stores and chains have affected our business severely, and the decision by the family to separate the stores didn't help matters much. I can't answer for the family's reluctance to communicate with our customers and friends about the separation, but I can share our feelings about it (which I've done in prior posts, if you read back).

Bill Webster has been running the pharmacy since his father died when he was 19 years old. His desire to retire spurred the separation, because he just couldn't figure out a cost-effective way to keep all the merchandise separate if we didn't erect walls between the stores. Note that I said "cost-effective". Possibly, we could have found some point-of-sale system out there that would've allowed us to keep the stores open to each other. That system, along with all the accoutrements necessary for it to function correctly, would've been terribly expensive. Contrary to popular belief, none of us has a lot of extra cash laying around. Remember, I wasn't always a Webster, and I've been overhearing all sorts of conjecture and innuendo about how much money the family has for years. After sinking just about everything into the store to keep it running, how could they have any? If an expensive system for the control of merchandise was out of the question, the only thing left to do was to build the walls or sell. Since then, our store has lost over 50% of its former business....I can only imagine the effect on the other stores.

So that's the gist of what happened. Those walls went up in June of 2007 and it's now June 2009. It amazes me that people still come in, every single day, and ask about the changes, and that's just in my store. Seriously, people, at least 5 time a day people ask when we made the changes. Is it really true that so many of our customers are only our customers once every two years or so? This is why I've tried to call your attention to the community benefits of shopping locally and to educate you on the dangers of shopping at chains and big box stores.

I would love it if Webster's Fine Stationers could succeed as a separately owned store. This store is our baby, our passion, and we've been nurturing it carefully these past two years. I think we're headed in the right direction and even though Altadena doesn't seem to like the changes, we've got some staunch supporters of our store. We've got so many plans ahead for fund-raising for local non-profits such as The Quality of Life Center and Five Acres, for having fun events here at the store and with the Altadena Arts Coalition, I'd like to see them come to fruition. We'd also like to keep all our local employees working, and not adding to the unemployment statistics. It's scary to think about, but if the separate stores can't pay their rent, then Webster's Pharmacy will be gone. My father-in-law is again talking of selling it all. He's got a point, you know. There comes a time when you have to ask yourself if this is actually a business or just an expensive hobby. Truly, my friends, we can't keep the stores open with no revenue - no one has that much money.

How many times have I heard people say, "What would we do without Webster's?" Well, Altadena.....what would you do? You'd be driving by a large condo or apartment complex where we are now, or perhaps a storage place or an ugly office building. You'd be driving down to Pasadena every time you needed to pick something up. Kid's got a project due at school? Whoops, now you've got to drive down to Michael's or a stationery shop on Colorado Blvd. for project or poster board. Need an ink cartridge refill for your printer? Schlep on down to Staples, on Arroyo for those, because you'd sure be lucky if RiteAid has them. I'm sure you don't need more examples, you know it would be a shame if Webster's as a whole had to go out of business.
Time something was said, and I guess it falls to me. So I ask you, Altadena.....show us some love and help us save Webster's!