City book store turns new page for owners with vision

Atlantis Books co-owner Fraser Newman (left) and staff member Fiona MacGregor get the new shop ready. Photo/Stephen Parker

An innovative mix of the old and the new is how local businessman Fraser Newman describes his new venture.

Mr Newman, the former manager of McLeods Booksellers, has joined forces with Books Alive owner Gregory Price to open a new shop selling new and used books, as well as second-hand CDs and vinyl.

Their "literary emporium" Atlantis Books will open in the old Toyworld shop on Eruera St on April 5 - "all going well".

Mr Newman said with his contract at McLeods coming to an end last month he was looking for an opportunity where he could be his own boss, take a risk and come up with new things.

So he walked into Books Alive - a second-hand bookshop that has been around for a couple of years - and suggested to Mr Price that they combine their areas of expertise.

Mr Price was keen to expand.

"It [the shop] will be about five weeks from idea to completion," Mr Newman said.

He said the trend overseas was a move to bookshops that sold a mix of new and used books. Atlantis will stock 80-90 per cent used.

"We are going to be the largest bookshop in town, with the widest range of titles," Mr Newman said. "We will fill niche markets, with a strong focus on hunting and military books, as well as comics, fantasy and sci-fi, graphic novels and Games Workshop models."

All used books would be under $10, with most used fiction under $5, he said.

"Why should quality be pretentiously expensive?" Mr Newman said. "We want to turn the traditional book retail model upside down. This means a focus on quality, back-list and less focus on all the latest flashy market rages."

He said they chose the vacant store because it was affordable, earthquake proofed, in a good location and because of the fantastic space across two levels.

A stage will be installed upstairs, which will be used for readings, workshops and events.

Downstairs there will be comfy couches and in future possibly coffee so customers can relax and take in the books, surroundings and hopefully occasional live music.

Mr Newman said he believed there was still a big market for books, despite the growing popularity of digital books, especially with the CBD's other second-hand bookshop Idle Hours closing down.

The pair already have plans to take the "new and old" model to other regional centres.

"I've been telling everyone three cities in three years," Mr Newman said. "That's the vision."

Mr Newman is relishing being his own boss after two years managing someone else's business.

"It's an itch that needed to be scratched, [there are] so many things I knew about the book industry."

After missing out on a spot on the Rotorua District Council in last year's election, Mr Newman said he had not ruled out standing again next time, by which point he hopes to have a few stores up and running without his day-to-day involvement.

To begin with, Mr Newman and Mr Price will be on the shop floor along with two other staff. They will also have a website, with every book in the store available online.

For now they are flat out getting the shop ready - 600 banana boxes of books are waiting to be moved in from Books Alive, which will close, while the planned Victorian-inspired design touches are yet to be completed.

"There's been a lot of sleepless nights but it's all going to be worth it," Mr Newman said.