Jul 7, 2010

Small bookstore survives tough economy, competitionBy David SharosSuburbanChicagoNews.com

Naperville, Iowa — Some might call it “the little engine that could.” Others might just see it as an iconic symbol of Naperville. Or maybe it proves that the mom and pop shops really can survive the corporate takeover of America.

Anderson’s Bookshop has made it through a tough economy and a big-box retailer moving blocks away.

Candy Purdom, publicity coordinator for Anderson’s, believes the family-owned business that has been in Naperville for six generations has put down deep roots and the community continues to respond to the Anderson legacy.

“There are hundreds of customers that are very loyal to us, and we feel that the community and the store work well together,” Purdom said. “We have popular author events, and we partner with the schools. We’ve now added a gift shop in the past year, and the network is strong.”

The Naperville Chamber of Commerce would agree, and even changed its policy for judging its Small Business of the Year awards to accommodate Anderson’s accomplishments.

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