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Books-A-Million, Inc., also known as BAM!, is a bookstore chain in the United States, operating 260 stores in 32 states. Stores range in size from 4,000 to 30,000 square feet and sell books, magazines, manga, collectibles, toys, technology, and gifts. Most Books-A-Million stores feature "Joe Muggs" cafés, a coffee and espresso bar.
Stores operate under the names Books-A-Million, Bookland, Books & Company, and 2nd & Charles.
The company owns Yogurt Mountain Holding, a frozen yogurt retailer and franchisor with 40 locations, as well as Preferred Growth Properties, which develops and manages commercial real estate investments. It owns and operates American Wholesale Book Company (AWBC), an e-commerce division operating as booksamillion.com; and an internet development and services company, NetCentral, in Nashville, Tennessee.
In December 2015, the company was acquired by its chairman, Clyde B. Anderson, and his family, for $21 million.
Books-A-Million, Inc., also known as BAM!, is a bookstore chain in the United States, operating 260 stores in 32 states. Stores range in size from 4,000 to 30,000 square feet and sell books, magazines, manga, collectibles, toys, technology, and gifts. Most Books-A-Million stores feature "Joe Muggs" cafés, a coffee and espresso bar.
Stores operate under the names Books-A-Million, Bookland, Books & Company, and 2nd & Charles.
The company owns Yogurt Mountain Holding, a frozen yogurt retailer and franchisor with 40 locations, as well as Preferred Growth Properties, which develops and manages commercial real estate investments. It owns and operates American Wholesale Book Company (AWBC), an e-commerce division operating as booksamillion.com; and an internet development and services company, NetCentral, in Nashville, Tennessee.
In December 2015, the company was acquired by its chairman, Clyde B. Anderson, and his family, for $21 million.
History
Books-A-Million was founded in 1917 inFlorence, Alabama
Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the st ...
, as a newsstand by 14-year old Clyde W. Anderson, who dropped out of school to support his family after his father died. Anderson saw a business opportunity after workers on the nearby Wilson Dam
Wilson Dam is a dam spanning the Tennessee River between Lauderdale County and Colbert County in the U.S. state of Alabama. Completed in 1924 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, it impounds Wilson Lake, and is one of nine Tennessee V ...
complained that they could not get their hometown newspapers.
In 1950, Charles C. Anderson, the founder's son, inherited the store and expanded it into a chain. The company incorporated as Bookland in 1964.
By 1980, the company had 50 stores.
In 1988, Bookland acquired the Gateway Books retail chain based in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...
. The same year, the company opened its first superstore format store.
In 1992, the company changed its name to Books-A-Million, Inc. and became a