WebJunction

For a feasibility study, describe the bookstore business in Mesa, AZ in the last 10 years. How has the appearance of “super stores such as “Border’s Books” affected the book store business in Mesa, AZ?

The NAICS code, http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html, designates the numbers 45121 for ”book stores and news dealers” and 451211 for “book stores”. A United States Postal Service zip code search, http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp, produces 19 zip codes for the city of Mesa, AZ. The Border’s web site lists 2 stores in Mesa, AZ, with another 6 stores within 25 miles. Note the 2 zip codes—85206 and 85210 for future use.

To begin your search, enter 85206 into the Zip Code Business Patterns search box. Click Go. Click on Industry Code #44 which also includes code #45. Note that statistics for Mesa, AZ include the total number of establishments and the Number of Establishments by Employment-size. Now click on the “Compare” button and you retrieve the same type of statistics for the other zip code areas in Mesa including 85210. You can now compare statistics for the two different zip code areas in industry code 44 (bookstores) as follows:

The 2004 CBP lists 2 establishments with a range of from 11 to 23 workers for zip code 85206 in 2004. Using the “Compare” button gives the number of establishments and the range number of workers for zip code 85210: 3 establishments and from 31 to 72 workers. The same table showed another zip code—85202—with the largest number of establishments of the Mesa, AZ, zip codes having bookstores: 4 establishments and from 31 to 72 workers. The CBP provided no payroll data for this NAICS code at the zip code level, but did for the shorter code number at both the county and the state level.

Repeating this process for the years 2001 and 1998 produces the following table of data for bookstores with paid employees in Mesa, AZ:

Number of Bookstores

Number of Bookstore workers

“*” = Has a Border’s bookstore

A quick analysis might seem to show that one zip code with a Border’s bookstore also showed failed bookstore establishments in the same zip code area, and one did not. One larger store (workers 50 to 99) in ZIP 85210 skewed the data in 1998, but it does not appear in later years. One larger store (workers 50 to 99) in another ZIP code skewed the data in 2001; it does not appear in 2004. Unfortunately, the CBP lacks starting dates for establishments, but apparently the Border’s in zip code 85206 was established after 2004 as the employee numbers are far too small to include a large chain operation. The presence of a Border’s bookstore does not affect other establishments greatly. In the end, the loss of establishments along with the loss of paid employees (“workers”) between 1998 and 2004 make Mesa, AZ, a doubtful choice for starting a bookstore. Based on the data, a conclusion might be drawn that the market isn't expanding, and a decrease in active stores and number of workers indicates that it would perhaps be unwise to open an additional store of this type in this market.