この6月、バークレー名物だった一軒の書店が閉店した。
UCバークレーのお膝元、Telegraph通りで43年間もの間営業を続けてきた“Cody's”。
50年前にCody夫妻が開業し、以来いかなる大手チェーンにも属さずにまったくの独立経営でやってきたこの書店は、「eclectic selection」(多方面にわたる偏りのないセレクション)が評判の、地元で最も親しまれていた本屋さんだった。
ノーベル賞受賞作家から元大統領にいたるまで、数え切れないほどの作家たちがここの扉をくぐった。そういえば、2004年にはクリントン元大統領もここで本の発売記念サイン会をしてたっけ。
しかし、昨今のインターネットによる書籍購入者の増加や若者の本離れの影響を受けて、ここ十数年は赤字続きだったといい、2代目オーナーのAndyさんはついに看板であるこの店を閉める決断を下したのだった。
Cody'sの店舗の中でも、このTeregraph店は「the heart and soul of the 60s counterculture and radical political currents(60年代の反体制文化と急進的な政治潮流そのもの)」（Andyさん）というように、格別な意味を持っていた。
その最終日には、閉店を惜しむ大勢の“ファン”たちが夜遅くまでフロアを埋め尽くし、なかにはAndyさんのサインを求める人たちもいた。私もニュースの中継を見てあわてて、記念にと本を買いに走った。
ところが今日、地元のフリー新聞「The Daily Carifornian」の一面にこんな記事が出ていてビックリ。
「Cody's Acquired by Japanes Company」（日本の本屋がCody'sを獲得）
記事によると、買収したのは日本で最大の洋書取り扱い書店「洋版」。Cody'sの所有するサンフランシスコとバークレーの2店舗を買収したという。
「It's an interesting and great cultural marriage」と洋版の社長（カガワヒロシ氏）が言うように、洋版がCody'sを資金面でバックアップするかわりに、Cody'sが50年間にわたって蓄積した洋書取り扱いに関する豊富な知識やアイデアを洋版に伝授する、ということらしい。
これは双方にとってこのうえない話だと思う。
特に、このCody'sに目をつけ、しかも“Cody's流”をそのまま（経営者と全従業員ごと）継続させる洋版はエライ。そしてオイシイ。
買収記念に、バークレーと日本つながりで私の本買ってくれないかなぁ。（なわけないか）
●Cody’s Acquired by Japanese Company /BY Michael Kay Contributing Writer
Ending 50 years as a locally owned business, Berkeley-based Cody's Books will announce today that it has been purchased by a Japanese publishing and distribution company.
Yohan Inc., a Tokyo-based distributor of foreign publications and owner of 18 Japanese bookstores, has acquired the local two-store book chain, said Melissa Mytinger, Cody's marketing director.
The terms of the deal, including the amount Yohan will pay for the company, were not disclosed.
Cody's, renowned for its eclectic selection and known as a leading independent bookstore, will not change under Yohan, Mytinger said.
"There are certainly no arms across the ocean controlling what we do," she said. "We are still able to do things like give tons of money to local schools. We will still choose our own books."
Cody's locations on Fourth Street in Berkeley and on Stockton Street in San Francisco will remain open under the new ownership, and all current employees will be retained, she said.
Andy Ross, owner of Cody's since 1977, will remain president of the chain, while his wife, Leslie Berkler, will move from corporate sales manager to vice president, Mytinger said.
"It opens up so many possibilities for (Cody's)," she said. "Just in the stability and ability to grow here, it's great."
In July, the book chain closed its landmark Telegraph Avenue store, concluding a 43-year run that saw countless famous authors, including Nobel Prize winners and presidents, pass through its doors.
Ross, who could not be reached for comment, said in previous interviews that 15 years of declining profits forced him to close the store.
"Andy tried valiantly for years, hoping there would be a turnaround, but there wasn't," said Pat Cody, who owned Cody's for 21 years with her husband Fred Cody. "This is what he's done in order to keep Cody's alive, as it were."
Yohan, which is worth approximately $4.5 million, owns 18 bookstores in Japan, including Aoyama Book Center, Japan's largest independent book chain.
The company plans to stabilize Cody's finances before considering expansion, said Hiroshi Kagawa, Yohan's CEO, who first visited Cody's in 1983 while touring major independent bookstores in the U.S.
The purchase will allow Cody's to exchange knowledge and ideas with Yohan's Japanese stores, he said.
"It is an interesting and great cultural marriage," he said. Kagawa is currently in the Bay Area and will be at the press conference announcing the sale today at the store on Fourth Street.
In August 2005, Yohan also bought award-winning Berkeley-based Stone Bridge Press. The connection helped when Kagawa first expressed interest in Cody's five months ago, Mytinger said.
Under the new ownership, Mytinger anticipates the wide-ranging collections of Cody's two stores will grow further.
"Over a relatively short period of time you'll see some additional books that we haven't been able to carry before," she said. "Everything will just be more substantial."
Pat Cody, who owned the business when it consisted of a single storefront on Euclid Avenue, was equally optimistic about what lies ahead for the once beleaguered book chain.
"I think the future looks good," she said.
（"The Daily Carifornian" Thursday, September 7th, 2006）
Pat Cody & Andy Ross
UCバークレーのお膝元、Telegraph通りで43年間もの間営業を続けてきた“Cody's”。
50年前にCody夫妻が開業し、以来いかなる大手チェーンにも属さずにまったくの独立経営でやってきたこの書店は、「eclectic selection」(多方面にわたる偏りのないセレクション)が評判の、地元で最も親しまれていた本屋さんだった。
ノーベル賞受賞作家から元大統領にいたるまで、数え切れないほどの作家たちがここの扉をくぐった。そういえば、2004年にはクリントン元大統領もここで本の発売記念サイン会をしてたっけ。
しかし、昨今のインターネットによる書籍購入者の増加や若者の本離れの影響を受けて、ここ十数年は赤字続きだったといい、2代目オーナーのAndyさんはついに看板であるこの店を閉める決断を下したのだった。
Cody'sの店舗の中でも、このTeregraph店は「the heart and soul of the 60s counterculture and radical political currents(60年代の反体制文化と急進的な政治潮流そのもの)」（Andyさん）というように、格別な意味を持っていた。
その最終日には、閉店を惜しむ大勢の“ファン”たちが夜遅くまでフロアを埋め尽くし、なかにはAndyさんのサインを求める人たちもいた。私もニュースの中継を見てあわてて、記念にと本を買いに走った。
ところが今日、地元のフリー新聞「The Daily Carifornian」の一面にこんな記事が出ていてビックリ。
「Cody's Acquired by Japanes Company」（日本の本屋がCody'sを獲得）
記事によると、買収したのは日本で最大の洋書取り扱い書店「洋版」。Cody'sの所有するサンフランシスコとバークレーの2店舗を買収したという。
「It's an interesting and great cultural marriage」と洋版の社長（カガワヒロシ氏）が言うように、洋版がCody'sを資金面でバックアップするかわりに、Cody'sが50年間にわたって蓄積した洋書取り扱いに関する豊富な知識やアイデアを洋版に伝授する、ということらしい。
これは双方にとってこのうえない話だと思う。
特に、このCody'sに目をつけ、しかも“Cody's流”をそのまま（経営者と全従業員ごと）継続させる洋版はエライ。そしてオイシイ。
買収記念に、バークレーと日本つながりで私の本買ってくれないかなぁ。（なわけないか）
●Cody’s Acquired by Japanese Company /BY Michael Kay Contributing Writer
Ending 50 years as a locally owned business, Berkeley-based Cody's Books will announce today that it has been purchased by a Japanese publishing and distribution company.
Yohan Inc., a Tokyo-based distributor of foreign publications and owner of 18 Japanese bookstores, has acquired the local two-store book chain, said Melissa Mytinger, Cody's marketing director.
The terms of the deal, including the amount Yohan will pay for the company, were not disclosed.
Cody's, renowned for its eclectic selection and known as a leading independent bookstore, will not change under Yohan, Mytinger said.
"There are certainly no arms across the ocean controlling what we do," she said. "We are still able to do things like give tons of money to local schools. We will still choose our own books."
Cody's locations on Fourth Street in Berkeley and on Stockton Street in San Francisco will remain open under the new ownership, and all current employees will be retained, she said.
Andy Ross, owner of Cody's since 1977, will remain president of the chain, while his wife, Leslie Berkler, will move from corporate sales manager to vice president, Mytinger said.
"It opens up so many possibilities for (Cody's)," she said. "Just in the stability and ability to grow here, it's great."
In July, the book chain closed its landmark Telegraph Avenue store, concluding a 43-year run that saw countless famous authors, including Nobel Prize winners and presidents, pass through its doors.
Ross, who could not be reached for comment, said in previous interviews that 15 years of declining profits forced him to close the store.
"Andy tried valiantly for years, hoping there would be a turnaround, but there wasn't," said Pat Cody, who owned Cody's for 21 years with her husband Fred Cody. "This is what he's done in order to keep Cody's alive, as it were."
Yohan, which is worth approximately $4.5 million, owns 18 bookstores in Japan, including Aoyama Book Center, Japan's largest independent book chain.
The company plans to stabilize Cody's finances before considering expansion, said Hiroshi Kagawa, Yohan's CEO, who first visited Cody's in 1983 while touring major independent bookstores in the U.S.
The purchase will allow Cody's to exchange knowledge and ideas with Yohan's Japanese stores, he said.
"It is an interesting and great cultural marriage," he said. Kagawa is currently in the Bay Area and will be at the press conference announcing the sale today at the store on Fourth Street.
In August 2005, Yohan also bought award-winning Berkeley-based Stone Bridge Press. The connection helped when Kagawa first expressed interest in Cody's five months ago, Mytinger said.
Under the new ownership, Mytinger anticipates the wide-ranging collections of Cody's two stores will grow further.
"Over a relatively short period of time you'll see some additional books that we haven't been able to carry before," she said. "Everything will just be more substantial."
Pat Cody, who owned the business when it consisted of a single storefront on Euclid Avenue, was equally optimistic about what lies ahead for the once beleaguered book chain.
"I think the future looks good," she said.
（"The Daily Carifornian" Thursday, September 7th, 2006）
Pat Cody & Andy Ross
まずはCody'sのないテレグラフなんてショック～！
初めてあの街に旅した時からのお気に入りなのに！
もうないんだなんて…
だけど4th STほか１店が残った、それも日本企業が買ってというのも驚き。ABCにしてもCody'sにしても閉店話を聞いてえらく動揺する店々を海を越えて救っている（？）洋版ってすごい。奇しくもStone Bridge Pressというとこも私、面接受けたことあります。Solanoの薬局の２階にあった、えらーーーく小さな会社でした。いろんなところ見てるのねー。
昨日、閉店したCody'sにいってみたら、なんと中はへんなハロウィーンショップの開店準備をしていたよ。本よりもパーティー・・まさに昨今の若者文化を象徴する図でした。
テレグラフは店の入れ代わりが激しく、GAPもBody Shopもすでにない。
昨日からフットボールシーズンが始まって、夜中にバカ騒ぎ学生たちがまた増えた。これだけはいつまでたっても変わらない