9. Create a three-question survey that would be of value to Nach Waxman and his team. To whom would it be administered? By whom? How would it be administered? Why would it be useful??

??

Transcribed Image Text:

UNIT 2 Opportunity Assessment Kitchen Arts & Letters, Inc.-An Indeper Bookstore Defies Industry Odds During the 1980s independent bookstores could still be found in communities eross America. Online megastores such as Amazon.com didn't emerge acl the mid-90s. Barnes & Noble and Borders were beginning to build their big-box chains but hadn't yet reached significant scale. In 1983, Nach (pronounced Nock) Waxman, a former graduate student in anthro- nology and South Asian studies, wrapped up his 18-year-long career as a book editor and started Kitchen Arts & Letters (KA&L), now a fixture in Manhattan's Upper East Side. Waxman wanted a store that was totally devoted to a single subject-food. He operates from a single location and has no e-commerce site, yet KA&L has become one of the most renowned and beloved of culinary bookstores. NOT JUST A COOKBOOK STORE When Waxman created KA&L, he envisioned a store that was more than just a cookbook outlet. He wanted to provide books on all subjects related to food. As he says, "We are not a cookbook store. .. . We are a place- you could call it a cultural zone-in which one can explore almost every aspect of this everyday feature of all our lives-how and where we get our food, how we distribute it, prepare it, consume it and even how we think about it."7 Kitchen Arts & Letters has an inventory of approximately 13,000 titles, quite extensive in depth in the culinary field. In addition to cookbooks, there are books on food chemistry, the restaurant business, ethnographic monographs, and various food-related items, such as stationery and art. Books can be new, used, or "antiquarian" (very old and rare). Waxman doesn't try to carry every cookbook or food-related volume that has ever been published. In fact, he is selective about what is sold at the store. He is not focused on recipes, rather on looking holistically at the role of food in life. Books are sold through a consultative discussion with a bookseller, and customers often find themselves purchasing books they didn't know existed when they walked into the store. SERVING UP CUSTOMER SATISFACTION In an online world in which the independent bookstore is becoming in- creasingly hard to sustain, KA&L continues to thrive through relationships with its clientele. Waxman notes the importance of the variety of food- related topics and the importance of the conversation with customers. More than that, the store is clearly focused on its customers and finding the right books for the right individuals. KA&L customers are generally either culinary professionals or home cooks. While Waxman treasures the visits from many of the top chefs in the world, he is most interested in the kitchen staff sent by those chefs. UNIT 2 Opportunity Assessment Kitchen Arts & Letters, Inc.-An Indeper Bookstore Defies Industry Odds During the 1980s independent bookstores could still be found in communities eross America. Online megastores such as Amazon.com didn't emerge acl the mid-90s. Barnes & Noble and Borders were beginning to build their big-box chains but hadn't yet reached significant scale. In 1983, Nach (pronounced Nock) Waxman, a former graduate student in anthro- nology and South Asian studies, wrapped up his 18-year-long career as a book editor and started Kitchen Arts & Letters (KA&L), now a fixture in Manhattan's Upper East Side. Waxman wanted a store that was totally devoted to a single subject-food. He operates from a single location and has no e-commerce site, yet KA&L has become one of the most renowned and beloved of culinary bookstores. NOT JUST A COOKBOOK STORE When Waxman created KA&L, he envisioned a store that was more than just a cookbook outlet. He wanted to provide books on all subjects related to food. As he says, "We are not a cookbook store. .. . We are a place- you could call it a cultural zone-in which one can explore almost every aspect of this everyday feature of all our lives-how and where we get our food, how we distribute it, prepare it, consume it and even how we think about it."7 Kitchen Arts & Letters has an inventory of approximately 13,000 titles, quite extensive in depth in the culinary field. In addition to cookbooks, there are books on food chemistry, the restaurant business, ethnographic monographs, and various food-related items, such as stationery and art. Books can be new, used, or "antiquarian" (very old and rare). Waxman doesn't try to carry every cookbook or food-related volume that has ever been published. In fact, he is selective about what is sold at the store. He is not focused on recipes, rather on looking holistically at the role of food in life. Books are sold through a consultative discussion with a bookseller, and customers often find themselves purchasing books they didn't know existed when they walked into the store. SERVING UP CUSTOMER SATISFACTION In an online world in which the independent bookstore is becoming in- creasingly hard to sustain, KA&L continues to thrive through relationships with its clientele. Waxman notes the importance of the variety of food- related topics and the importance of the conversation with customers. More than that, the store is clearly focused on its customers and finding the right books for the right individuals. KA&L customers are generally either culinary professionals or home cooks. While Waxman treasures the visits from many of the top chefs in the world, he is most interested in the kitchen staff sent by those chefs.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

A ThreeQuestion Survey of Value to Nach Waxman and his Team From the analysis of facts on Kitchen Arts Letters Inc it is apparent that the business en... View the full answer