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Federal Publications, the #1 seller of Government of Canada
publications
Overview:
- In business for 17 years
- 800 square feet of retail space
- Separate office for orders via mail, telephone, and the
Web
- Branch in Montreal (Les Publications Gouvernementales)
- Attends 4-5 trade shows per year
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When Juliet began working for her father's new bookstore in 1985, it
was just a summer job. "I'd just graduated from university,"
she says, "and I was waiting to get regular work."
But then she got hooked. "I loved the fact that I could come up
with an idea and get it implemented right away without going through levels
of approval."
Successful strategies
![Federal Publications has a wide selection of books from Canadian Government Publishing](/web/20061028062824im_/http://www.publications.gc.ca/helpAndInfo/bookstores/feature/fedpubs2.jpg) |
Federal Publications has a wide selection
of books from Canadian Government Publishing
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Today, Juliet is President of Federal Publications, Inc. with an MBA
under her belt to give her more skills in running a small business. Two
strategies, her Web site and e-newsletter, have been very successful.
The store's site gets requests from around the world. "It's a wonderful
experience," Juliet says, "to find out how many people are interested
in Canada."
And her customers eagerly await the arrival of the monthly e-newsletter.
"Some people must be sitting by their computers waiting, because
as soon as it goes out, we get orders."
Business trends
![Federal Publications has a wide selection of books from Canadian Government Publishing](/web/20061028062824im_/http://www.publications.gc.ca/helpAndInfo/bookstores/feature/fedpubs3.jpg) |
Federal Publications has a wide selection
of books from Canadian Government Publishing
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During the past 17 years, Juliet has seen two significant trends. The
first is more Canadians and foreigners interested in travelling in Canada
and looking for books about Canada.
The second trend is growing sales of maps and electronic charts. "We
now go to trade shows for boaters, cottagers, and people interested in
outdoor adventure."
Juliet has also found that other niche trade shows are also good for
business - for example, shows for law librarians, geography teachers,
and import/export firms.
Positive relationship with Canadian Government Publishing (CGP)
![Close-up of signage provided by Canadian Government Publishing](/web/20061028062824im_/http://www.publications.gc.ca/helpAndInfo/bookstores/feature/fedpubs4.jpg) |
Close-up of signage provided by Canadian
Government Publishing
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Juliet finds that CGP is very responsive and always trying to improve
its services. But, equally important, she appreciates the fact that "they
supply non-partisan information about Canada. Our customers don't want
biased material."
Finally, Juliet attributes her store's success to being pro-active about
promoting government publications and also being highly customer-oriented.
"We like to say that we're a first stop for people looking for information
on Canada, and if it isn't in a book, we steer them in the right direction."
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