Crown Books was a

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The foundi ...

headquartered in

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

, with a Largo post office address. It was founded in the Washington, D.C., metro area by Robert Haft in 1977. Crown Books (retail) is of no relation to Crown Books (publisher), although the former carried inventory from the latter.

Founding and growth

Crown Books was founded in the Washington, D.C., metro area in 1977 by Robert Haft with money borrowed from his father, D.C. businessman Herbert Haft. The chain was organized under the umbrella of the Dart Group (not related to the current UK-based

Dart Group Jet2 plc (formerly Dart Group plc) is a British multinational airline company based in Leeds, England. Its head office is listed as Low Fare Finder House on the grounds of Leeds Bradford Airport, England. Subsidiary Jet2.com has its head offic ...

), which also included Trak Auto, Shoppers Food Warehouse, Total Beverage,

Dart Drug Dart Drug was a chain of discount drug stores in the metropolitan Washington, DC region. It was founded in 1955, by Herbert Haft and his wife Gloria in Adams Morgan. The chain expanded to over 100 stores, and became a vehicle (as Dart Group) by wh ...

, and Combined Properties. Known for low prices, the chain gained fame in the 1980s and early 1990s for its clever advertising campaigns (such as Robert Haft sitting on large stacks of books with the caption "Books Cost Too Much, That's Why I Opened Crown Books. Now You'll Never Pay Full Price Again!") At the beginning, Crown Books day-to-day operations were managed by Jose Gonzales (Vice President of Operations) and Jeanne Herrick (Vice President of Merchandising). Once the decision was made to expand into other areas the dynamic of Mr. Gonzales & Ms. Herrick was replicated into the California market with the addition of Steve Young & Miriam Bass. Later Crown made the decision to enter the Chicago market and that entry was managed by Richard Lowe & Rhonda Branch. Crown Books grew rapidly, from its single store in 1977 to a regional chain of 196 stores at its height in 1993, close on the heels of Borders and poised to become the nation's second-largest book chain. While Classic Crown Books stores, which afforded customers between 2,000 and of book selection, had been the backbone of the company since its founding in 1977, they were gradually phased out in favor of the larger, more competitive, superstore format adopted by the company in 1990. Stocking up to 80,000 titles—10 times the number carried in Classic Crown stores—Super Crown Books locations supplemented the Classic Crown holdings with a large line of greeting cards, games, computer software, and an assortment of gift items. Each superstore provided between 12,000 and of retail space. Robert Haft showed great foresight in planning Crown Software in 1986, but his side projects made him late to the superstore scene which competitors Barnes & Noble and Borders had begun. In 1993, the company was the third largest book chain in the United States, after Barnes & Noble and Borders, and had stores in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

. With the advent of its Super Crown Books locations, as well as the boom in sales volume of competitors like Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million, the company reevaluated its Classic Crown locations and determined that several of the smaller stores would become increasingly unprofitable as the trend toward larger bookstores continued. In 1993, under the guidance of Glenn E. Hemmerle, president and CEO of the company from October 1992 through June 1994, Crown prepared the financial groundwork for closing several of its smaller stores.

Haft family feud

A bitter divorce between Herbert Haft and his wife tore the family apart, and pitted Crown Books founder Robert Haft against his father. When Herbert tried to replace Robert as the head of Crown Books, the situation exploded and their back-and-forth exploits regularly made the front page of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' over the months between the fall of 1993 and the summer of 1994, becoming a regional media sensation. After Robert's firing, upper management positions were abandoned and refilled with some regularity, draining the company of both management skills and cash. The family feud playing out among Haft family members appeared close to resolution by May 1994. However, four months later a jury awarded Robert M. Haft $34.1 million in compensation for a breach of contract by Dart Group and Crown Books. Several lawsuits and countersuits were filed by other members of the Haft family as each jockeyed for a controlling interest in family-controlled companies. By 1996 Crown found itself listed as co-plaintiff in a lawsuit brought against Herbert H. Haft by the Dart Group charging fraud and breach of fiduciary duty with regard to business transactions made during the course of Haft's divorce and resulting power struggle. Crown had been named as a co-defendant in similar lawsuits filed by shareholder groups as early as 1993. A standstill rider was entered in Delaware court in 1995, restricting certain relevant actions of the Dart Corporation until such time as all legal matters were resolved; by mid-1997 a conditional settlement had been reached with Herbert H. Haft whereby Haft would relinquish his position and voting rights in the Dart Group in exchange for approximately $41 million.

Bankruptcy

With the dissolution of the Dart Group, Crown was unable to find a buyer and was forced into bankruptcy. After being hired to replace Jeanne Herrick as Vice President of Merchandising, Steve Stevens (Circuit City) replaced Glenn E. Hemmerle in the CEO seat. Over the next few years, the chain began to close over half of its 196 stores and pulled out of Houston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Portland, and Sacramento markets. The chain reorganized with help from

Ingram Content Group Ingram Content Group is an American service provider to the book publishing industry, based in La Vergne, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Ingram Industries. Shawn Morin is CEO, and John R. Ingram is chairman of Ingram Industries. History Th ...

, which provided jobbing services to the crippled giant. Crown emerged briefly from bankruptcy in 1997 only to fall back into it in 1998 under leadership of CEO Anna Currence, strangled by lack of financing and stores too small to compete with the superstores of the competition (of the 56 remaining Crown Books stores after the first bankruptcy, only one had a drink bar, an ominous sign of Crown's out-of-touch management in the retail book marketplace). Crown emerged briefly from their second bankruptcy in the spring of 2000 with former Waldenbooks CEO Charlie Cumello in the CEO seat, financed by private funding. In the fall of 2000, the company's debt was purchased by

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

, which hounded the reemerging brand with collection fees until it eventually broke. In February 2001, Crown Books filed for liquidation, and in April 2001, ten of the D.C.-area stores and eight Chicago stores were purchased by

Books-A-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, a ...

for pennies on the dollar. The liquidation of the remaining Crown Books stores was completed by July 2001, when a former

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, flagship store was shuttered.

The aftermath

After Crown Books' bankruptcy in 2001, Andy Weiss, owner of a private bookseller called A&S Booksellers, bought the Crown Books name and trademark and applied the name to most of his stores. In 2007, Ward Albright purchased the right to share the name with Weiss and opened more bookstores under the Crown Books name. The present Crown Books chain buys remaindered books and overstock in bulk from

publishers Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

at large discounts and passes the discounts to customers.

closed one of the DC-area former Crown stores shortly after purchase, but remodeled the remaining 17 stores in 2001 and 2002, and hired on many of the former Crown Books staff. After Crown Books, Anna Currence became an executive recruiter with

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

-based Brooke Chase Associates Inc. Crown CIO Susan Harwood stayed with Books-A-Million until 2007, when she joined Borders Books and Music as CIO. Crown Books area manager Rich Ball briefly assisted the Books-A-Million changeover, then founded book

wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

The Page's Edge in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 31,339 as of the 20 ...

Corporate affairs

The headquarters had a

Largo, Maryland Largo () is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,605 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Largo is located just ...

post office address. Its area was physically defined as being in the Mitchellville, Maryland

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

by the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

in the 1990 U.S. Census. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the Census Bureau redefined the area as being in the Lake Arbor census-designated place.2010 Census - Census Block Map (Index): Lake Arbor CDP, MD
.

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Sources

''The New York Times'', June 25, 1990

, October 14, 1994

Funding Universe. Accessed November 7, 2007

Washington Business Journal, December 17, 1996

''The Washington Post'', April 28, 1997 * "Crown Books in deep trouble; stock dives 39%", ''Washington Times'', May 6, 1998

''The Motley Fool'', December 8, 1997 * "Crown Says Bankruptcy Is Possible; Book Chain Comments After Nasdaq Stops Trading in Stock", ''Washington Times'', July 9, 1998

''International Directory of Company Histories Volume 21'', St. James Press, 1998
"Crown Books may face uncertain future"
''Discount Store News'', July 27, 1998

''The New York Times'', August 4, 1998 * "14 Crown Bookstores Shut Doors; Bankruptcy Court Approves Plan", ''The Washington Post'', August 21, 1998
Crown Books - Employment Agreement Re: Anna L. Currence
January 12, 1998
"Crown Books Files Consensual Plan of Reorganization"
''Crown Books Press Release'', July 1, 1999
Crown Books Plan of Reorganization is Confirmed
''Crown Books Press Release'', October 7, 1999
Crown Books Hires Charlie Cumelo as President and CEO"
''PRNewswire'', November 19, 1999 * "Crown recruits ex-CEO of rival", ''The Washington Post'', November 30, 1999

''Publishers Weekly'', February 19, 2001
"Borders Group Appoints Susan Harwood Chief Information Officer"
Borders Press Release, August 20, 2001
Letter to holders of Crown Books gift certificates
A&S Booksellers. Accessed November 7, 2007.
"Discount bookseller takes on Crown name"
''North (San Diego) County Times'', June 9, 2005
"A bookstore does grow in Cupertino"
, ''Cupertino Courier'', November 7, 2007

References

Notes

External links

*
Crown Books
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121234648/http://www.crown-books.com/ , date=2007-11-21 (current unrelated California company) Bookstores in Maryland Retail companies established in 1977 Retail companies disestablished in 2001 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997 Defunct retail companies of the United States Companies based in Prince George's County, Maryland Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001 1977 establishments in Maryland 2001 disestablishments in Maryland