Meet the Bibliomaniacs: The HPB Concord at the Willows Team

Hey Concord, we’re back! Our new Concord at the Willows store opens November 21! In this edition of Meet the Bibliomaniacs, we would like to introduce you to the entire HPB Concord at the Willows staff. Take it away, team!

 

What is your favorite part about working at HPB?

Laura: I have to say that working around people who are as obsessed with books and movies as I am is one of the main reasons I love working at HPB.

Bee: All the fantastic people I work with! We are a big ‘ole book family!

Emily: Having an excuse to talk about books or movies or music all day and call it work.

Aubrey: Getting to work with all the cool stuff that comes in and having a good time at work with my coworkers!

Dan: All my groovy coworkers.

Cheryl: I love the people I work with.

Kayla: Getting to work with people who are as passionate about books/movies as I am.

Bleu: I love seeing all of the cool books, movies and video games that come through the buy counter. I also really love the staff I work with.

Brandon: Treasure hunting for clearance books

Jake: I have the best staff in the world

Ariel: We are professional treasure hunters! Having the opportunity to interact and connect with people from all walks of life.

Sea: Working with people that are cool and fun to work with and are just as nerdy as me.

Erin: Getting to work with books!

Sally: The best part about working at HPB is discovering new books, learning from fellow book lovers and exposing customers to different ideas.

Mary: Seeing all the cool, unusual books that come to us over the buy counter. And then shelving them. And then talking to people about them. Basically I like to be around books and book people. 🙂

Scott: I have always worked with books and/or movies in one way or another. And I love media of all types, but I feel like my co-workers here are integral to the enjoyment of being employed here.

Meet the Bibliomaniacs: The HPB Wichita Team

Hey Booklovers! We’re beyond excited for the opening of our new store in Wichita, KS. In this edition of Meet the Bibliomaniacs, we would like to introduce you to the HPB Wichita team. Take it away, guys!

What is your favorite part about working at HPB?
Charity: The other employees have been fantastic.
Kathleen: I get to be surrounded by the things I love with people who also love books and media, too. Seeing people come in with things to sell is an adventure. You never know what will be there!
Jonathan: The atmosphere.
Matt: Seeing and buying so many books.
Sarah: The people I work with and the customers.
Morgana: I enjoy how patient and reassuring all of my superiors have been. It creates a comfortable work environment.
Thomas: The work environment, working with people who like books. Customers and employees alike.
Lisa: Exposure to new subjects and expanding my knowledge of books.
Hunter: Seeing all the new products and interesting things come through.
Anissa: Being around books and learning about new subjects.
Caleb: Interacting with people who have the same passions I do.
Tim: Being exposed to rare and exciting collectibles and learning something new every day.
Kristal: Working with a company that has such diverse interests and really values both customers and employees. Also, my favorite part about buying books is that they can tell you a story about the people selling them to you, and you never know what that story will be.

Half Price Books CEO shares her story in Fortune Magazine

We think things are pretty great here at Half Price Books, and we love it when other people think so, too. That’s why we were so excited when our president and CEO, Sharon Anderson Wright, was featured in Fortune Magazine!

Hear first-hand from Sharon as she tells you how her family started Half Price Books, became the largest family-owned new and used book store chain, and is “Thriving in an Amazon World.”

“Don’t tell Sharon Anderson Wright that bookstores are a dying industry. The 56-year-old CEO of Half Price Books took a disorganized collection of stores co-founded by her mom—they started by selling used paperbacks and hardcovers out of a dingy former laundromat—and transformed the operation into a chain that is defying a seemingly inexorable tide. While bookstores are shuttered around the country and industry revenue has decreased an average of 3.2% a year over the past five years, Half Price Books is growing. It opens about five stores a year, with revenues rising from $50 million in 1995 to $240 million in 2013.”

Read the full article.

Behind the Scenes with Art Curator & HPB Alum

One of our employees from the early days of Half Price Books, Charles Dee Mitchell, just had his house featured in The Dallas Morning News.

In 1972 the Fort Worth native, a theater (writing and directing) graduate of SMU, returned to Dallas from a stint in New York City and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to apply for a job at a start-up called Half Price Books. Some years and many gold-plated stock options later, he decided to retire early to pursue his longtime sideline as an art curator and writer. Making his love of art central to his life required stretching out in new directions, including selling the warrenlike Hollywood Heights Tudor he had long called home.

Art curator, collector and retired Half Price Books employee, Charles Dee Mitchell, in his office.

Check out the full article and some pics of his fabulous, art-filled home!

Photo Source: Ben Torres