All authors in the genre know her, some even came into being thanks to her. La Tache noire, this bookstore-café specializing in thrillers and founded in Strasbourg on September 1, 2018 by Eric Schultz, launched a call for help and donations on Instagram on Saturday September 9 through a crowdfunding campaign. Because of the draft and late rent, she can no longer make ends meet, although her business continues to do well. “We achieved a 5% increase in sales this year compared to last year, Eric Schultz told us. The problem is that we have accumulated debt since 2020. We managed to catch up with them and got back under the water. We have accounts blocked every month. For example, we were blocked at the exit by Fred Vargas. All the bookstores in Strasbourg had it except us! The new novel by Víctor del Arbol is the same, we don’t have it, although it has come to us several times and our customers value it enormously.
“Heartbreaking”
For several months, the bookseller has been trying to rectify the situation by cutting its funds (“heartbreaking”, he says), reducing his orders and income. But that is no longer enough. The current economic tensions (transport costs, paper crisis, rising inflation, etc.) – not to mention the current tensions in the publishing and distribution world – do not allow it to offset the liabilities through its own activities.
To eliminate this liability, Eric Schultz first approached local customers and then took off a crowdfunding. Goal: collect 25,000 euros. 10,000 to clean up relationships with suppliers, 8,000 to catch up on rent arrears, 5,000 to restart meetings with authors and activities in bookstores, and finally 2,000 to expand the collection of crime and thrillers, especially classics, from which the bookshop had to part in an attempt to survive.
“Used books sell out very quickly”
If activity continues because La Tache Noire customers are true enthusiasts, purchasing practices have recently changed under the pressure of rising prices. Those who often bought large formats are buying slightly less, others have switched from large formats to paperbacks, and pocket readers, especially students, are increasingly buying used paperbacks. “Used books are selling out very quickly, we see that people are currently having a lot of difficulty making ends meet.” confirms the bookseller, who himself states that he has to pay less than one RSA, i.e. less than 600 euros.
Eric Schultz had many lives before opening the Black Spot. He was elected Green in the Strasbourg town hall, worked in clubs and taught at Sciences-Po. His life is now dedicated to his bookstore, which he runs with his partner, who also has a part-time job. His customers often rely on his advice when making purchases. He currently works primarily as a consultant Okavango (Black Series) by Caryl Ferey, Despite all my anger (Rivages) by Jérémy Fel and the coral bride (Black Dawn) by Roxanne Bouchard, which we spoke highly of last week Freed. It would have a negative impact if this Strasbourg bookshop were to close as Strasbourg prepares to become the UNESCO World Book Capital in 2024.
