Be quick to beat a path to this book lover's paradise

Pathfinder Bookshop, at the ground level of the New Gallery Building at the corner of Lorne and Wellesley streets, has a quiet and learned ambience. Photo / Supplied

Pathfinder Bookshop, at the ground level of the New Gallery Building at the corner of Lorne and Wellesley streets, has a quiet and learned ambience.

Pathfinder Bookshop, a landmark Auckland city business for the past 30 years, is being marketed for sale as a business going concern for $150,000 plus stock of about $120,000, by Lawrie McColl of Affiliated Business Consultants.

"This is a well-known and respected specialist bookstore with a mind, body and spirit focus," McColl says. "The owners, Tim and Jennifer Eddington, have run the business since its inception in 1981.

"They have decided to retire as Jennifer has been unable to work in the shop after suffering a stroke three years ago.

"Pathfinder has a well-defined niche market and a strong and ongoing core group of customers. In today's tough retail environment, it is the specialised independent bookshops that have survived and which are doing the best.

"They know their market and have strong relationships with their customers."

Tim Eddington said he and Jennifer had a mission to create a retail outlet that would represent the self-help genre and give each customer the widest possible choice as they chose their own "path".

"Their path could lead them to health, spiritual growth, personal fulfilment or whatever they were looking for and that mission has not changed - it is still as relevant today as it was nearly 30 years ago.

"The great thing about a bookstore is that you are constantly refreshing your range and reinvigorating yourself every day."

Pathfinder stocks a diverse and extensive range of books, CDs and DVDs, and most are on the subjects of creativity and learning, psychology and psychotherapy, environmental living, holistic health, diet and nutrition, cooking, parenting, personal improvement, spirituality and religion, tarot, new age philosophies, occult and the paranormal.

"The diverse range of the stock is a key strength," says McColl. "Customer interest in subjects can vary depending on a number of factors including current fashion and culture."

Over the years, the Eddingtons opened stores in Wellington and Christchurch but, since selling the Wellington store as a successful going concern 14 years ago, they have focused on their Auckland store.

McColl says a major attraction of Pathfinder is its central city location in the New Gallery Building at the corner of Lorne and Wellesley streets.

"The New Gallery Building also houses Parsons Bookshop, which has a focus on big and beautiful art books. The combination of these two stores makes the address a real destination for Auckland book buyers.

"Pathfinder Bookshop is very spacious at 266sq m, which gives it a quiet and rather learned ambience. The roomy environment makes it perfect for author book signings, book launches and other events which attract a number of people."

Pathfinder has BookNet, a computerised Windows-based point-of-sale inventory and management system designed specifically for booksellers, which allows easy and informed reordering of stock and assists with sales history and product trends.

"Pathfinder sources a good proportion of its titles directly from overseas publishers," McColl says.

"Employing the latest developments in supply-chain management means that orders can be placed for books on a Thursday from the United States and be in-store by the next Tuesday.

"Pathfinder also has its own popular website, www.pathfinder.co.nz, and a busy mail-order service."

Eddington says Pathfinder has a loyal customer base, with a sizeable proportion of its customers being regulars for many years.

"A lot of well-known faces from the performing arts, sport and business are among those who beat a path to our door. Visitors from overseas are amazed at the comprehensive selection on our shelves.

"The shop has a mailing list of several thousand, as well as an active database of customers who have signed up to receive regular email updates." McColl says opportunities for growth include further development of the website.

"Author signings, selling at seminars and conferences are also important. Pursuing avenues like these would drive sales further."