Fox Valley Technical College offers basic third level education at a reasonable price. To better serve their student population, the Board of Trustees sought the lowest bid for their bookstore provider, and now downtown Appleton, Wisconsin is paying a steep price.
Conkey's Bookstore has been in business in Appleton for over one hundred years, surviving worse economic climates than the present day. The book business has changed, however, and the shop has been struggling.
They couldn't compete with the likes of Barnes & Noble, so they lost a significant part of their market share when Fox Valley Technical College awarded the bookstore contract to B&N.
The students at FVTC get the best deal on their books and supplies. The members of the school's board of trustees are merrily patting themselves on the back, glowing with pride over helping the students, and stumbling over their feet in an effort to dance away from the fall-out of their decision. It's the process, they've said, we had to accept the low bid because it's the process, carved in granite and unchangeable.
Sally Mielke, board chairman, understands that the board is upset. They like Conkey's owner, they patronize his shop, but their hands were tied by the process.
The entire town of Appleton loses their independent book seller. There's talk of enticing a new book shop to come to town, but if the school board is more engrossed in supporting the process rather than a local merchant, who would be fool enough to invest in Appleton? You can bet that Barnes & Noble isn't about to open up in Conkey's space.
For those who cannot abandon the pleasures of browsing the stacks of an independent book store, they'll face the added cost of traveling further to reach another store in another town, which will reap the benefits of the additional sales tax generated.
With Conkey's out of the picture, B&N will have less incentive to offer cut-rate pricing. Cost containment lasts until the competition is dead, and Conkey's is pulling the plug.
But the students of Fox Valley Technical College will have cheaper textbooks for the coming year.
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