Brand Brief

Company
Owners:
Richard Skorman
Patricia Seator

Address:
Poor Richard’s Downtown
320–324 1/2 N. Tejon St
Colorado Springs
Colorado 80903

Contact:
719.578.5549
https://poorrichardsdowntown.com/

Designer
Levi Dillard
Larimer, PA 15647
waywardsonimpala13@gmail.com
719.304.6144
https://levidillard.weebly.com/
 Table of Contents History
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Target Audience/Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Poor Richards was not always the bookstore,
toy store, and restaurant Colorado Springs resi-
Industry Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 dents know and love. Originally called Poor Rich-
Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ard’s Feed & Read in 1977, Poor Richards has come
Client Reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 a long way from a small bookstore and café. In
1982, the bookstore and café were moved and re-
Marketing Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 branded as Poor Richard’s Bookstore & Cinema,
Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 a place where one could read during the day and
Brand Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 watch films at night. In 1992, this was changed once
again when the creator, Richard Skorman, decided
to sell the cinema to a friend. Little Richards Toy
Store filled the space where the cinema had been,
creating the Poor Richards/Little Richards com-
bination Colorado Springs residents know today.
The last installment was made in 2005, a time in
which indie bookstores had a hard time staying in
business, when Skorman decided to create Rico’s
Café’ and Wine Bar, a place for people to enjoy
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food and wine. Now Colorado Springs residents often
visit the Poor Richard’s bookstore, stopping into the
Little Richard’s toy shop, and finishing with a meal
from Rico’s Café’ and Wine Bar (A Place Where You
Feel At Home).
The three-in-one business has done quite well
through the years, surviving even Covid-19 when
many indie bookstores had to shut down. This could
be because Poor Richard’s bookstore is one of the
only small used bookstores still in Colorado Springs,
and Little Richard’s is one of the only indie toyshops
around. While there are other bookstores in the
Springs, most of them do not sell used books or only
sell a few, while Poor Richard’s consists mainly of
used books. Due to this, many people consider Poor
Richard’s to be their go-to bookstore, keeping Poor
Richard’s one of the must-see shops in the Downtown
Colorado Springs area (Snouwaert).
 Target Audience/Customers
Consumers today look for shops with a
good atmosphere, unique products, and friend-
ly, well-informed staff (Samad). Poor Richard’s is
filled with people of any gender, sexuality, age,
ethnicity, and body type. There is not one type of
person who enjoys going to these shops. The only
commonality they have is they all love books. Due
to this, Poor Richard’s has been hiring more staff
with specialties in different areas to add new per-
spective and selection to their stores (Wassberg).
Target audiences for Poor Richard’s would be
booklovers, coffee drinkers, and toy collectors. As
far as booklovers go, these people might be look-
ing for cheaper alternatives to common booksell-
ers like Amazon, or they may be looking for rare,
used books. Since Poor Richard’s sells used books,
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it’s not unlikely one may find signed or first edition
copies of the books they enjoy. Rico’s Café offers
local, preservative-free, organic food for those who
are looking for something a bit healthier and less
processed (A Place Where You Feel At Home). Little
Richard’s toy store sells all types of toys, offering a
place for anyone to go interested in toy collecting
or those who have children. As Colorado Springs is
a place filled with art and unique designers, many
people who go to Poor Richards look for local art
pieces, stories, and musicians. Poor Richard’s says
they “support local artisans and provide a venue
for local musicians and artists” (A Place Where You
Feel At Home). Overall, they are doing very well us-
ing their shops to cater towards their target audi-
ence.
Industry Analysis
While the book industry may be slightly di- on platforms such as TikTok. It may be important to
minished due to the influx of eBooks and audio- research the books becoming popular on “Booktok”
books, it is important to note that paperback books to ensure sellers are selling the books Gen Z-ers are
are not going anywhere. One study in particular interested in (2022 Publishing Trends That Booksell-
saw that in 2020, 41.2% of Australian people bought ers Need To Be Aware Of ).
a print book, whereas only 15.9% decided to go for In terms of competition analysis, Barnes and
an eBook. Many people have said that with eBooks Noble and Amazon are competitors for any book-
and audiobooks, the print book industry will soon store as their shops are all over the world and used
be gone completely, but as of right now, it is still by millions of people. However, the main competi-
going strong (2022 Publishing Trends That Book- tor solely for Poor Richard’s appears to be Tattered
sellers Need To Be Aware Of ). Cover, a bookstore seen across Colorado Springs
Another industry trend to note is the in- and Denver (Snouwaert).
crease in book prices. This is happening with
many products due to inflation and printing is no
exception. Not only has the cost of paper and ma-
terials gone up, but the price of labor has also in-
creased. This may make it hard to price books the
same as before for many booksellers, and some
customers could be lost due to the increase (2022
Publishing Trends That Booksellers Need To Be
Aware Of ).
Another important industry trend is the chal-
lenge of reaching audiences such as Gen Z. As Gen
Z-ers use social media to get news, it is important
for booksellers to use social media as well. On top
of this, things like “Booktok” have become a thing
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 Competition Client Reputation

Richard Skorman aimed to make a welcom-

ing and unique experience out of his bookstore,
toy store, and restaurant which is why he created
As I said previously, the main competition tered Cover would like to create community, put Poor Richards with a café back in 1977. Poor Rich-
for Poor Richard’s is Tattered Cover. Tattered on social events, and be a safe place for artists and ards has the right atmosphere for any bookworm
Cover’s mission statement is “To be a haven readers. Although they are a bookseller like Poor looking to sit and read their new book with a cup
for knowledge, community, and conversation Richards, their atmosphere is newer, more typical of coffee or scone. All three places have unique
for the next 50 years” (Mission, Vision, Val- than Poor Richard’s. Poor Richards caters towards products and friendly staff. Their customers are
ues.) This means that while they do sell books, artists and unique people, making their shops typically repeat customers and come in often due
Tattered Cover is more interested in creating a more whimsical. Meanwhile, Tattered Cover is to the changing inventory and the atmosphere
place where the community can come together more similar to a Barnes and Noble, their interior that is not only pleasant in the bookstore and
to talk about important things or just enjoy each is much newer, and their stores feel more “sterile”. toy store, but also in the café where many people
other’s company. Tattered Cover sells used, and go to work or just sit and have a cup of tea. Poor
new books and their Colorado Springs location Richard’s is seen as unique, reliable, and interest-
sells alcohol and other nonalcoholic beverages. ing for both new and repeating customers.
Due to this, their audiences are similar to Poor
Richards, although their target audience may
look more for new books and coffee, opposed
to cheaper used books. Their advantages are
the beverage bar they have as well as their book
inventory, which consists of many signed and
first-edition books. Their vision is “to curate
memorable, community-based experiences, le-
veraging all the treasures of literature, for the
intellectually curious, passionately creative,
and socially engaged” (Mission, Vision, Values).
This vision brings across the message that Tat-

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 Marketing Information
Many people learn about Poor Richards
through word-of-mouth or from local news sta-
tions and newspapers. As it is part of Colorado
Springs history, it is something that tourists of-
ten see when visiting the Springs. Many websites
about Colorado Springs mention Poor Richard’s,
such as the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum
and City Lifestyle. As well as this, Poor Richards
has a Facebook and an Instagram that are still
updated regularly. These updates consist of posts
about their current stock and new events. Their
Facebook uses their logo as their profile photo and
a nice photo of their store for their header. Their
Instagram also uses their logo as their profile pho-
to. Other than that, their social media accounts do
not fit a specific theme or have many commonal-
ities. Poor Richard’s also does not advertise very
much using signage or outside marketing. I feel
they could benefit from more signage around
town for those who may not have social media or
use the internet very much.
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Strategy
One thing Poor Richards is missing with
their current branding is modernism. Many of
their competitors, including Tattered Cover and
Barnes and Noble, have become modernized in
terms of their decorations and books offered.
Poor Richards sells some books that are popular
but their main inventory is used books, regard-
less of the popularity of the book. I believe Poor
Richards needs to update their stock a little, not
change it completely as most of their customers
go there to look for rare or cheap used books,
but just enough that even the new generation
and those who are interested in the newest book
trends would enjoy going to the store. At the
same time, their decorations are behind in the
times. They are eclectic so they do not have one
particular theme, which is good for their custom-
ers who want a unique experience, but not good
for those looking for a new, modern bookstore. It
could be time to update their style to a modern-
ized version of their current aesthetics.
Poor Richards is recognized mainly for
their unique stock as well as their whimsical
style and great customer service. Because of this,
I would not suggest completely changing their
stock, just adding some newer, popular books.
I would also suggest keeping the same artistic,
local feel as many people in Colorado look for
stores with this quality. The only things that could
be updated to make the store feel newer without
taking away this aesthetic would be the logo and
some of the interior decorations. Their current
logo does not seem to fit the feel of their shop as
it does not make sense for the times nor the set-
ting. It should not be changed completely, as to
not remove it’s uniqueness, but it does need to be
updated. As well as this, those who shop at Poor
Richards look for great customer service, so this
needs to stay the same even through their rebrand-
ing. Making sure those who work at their stores are
knowledgeable and passionate about books, food,
and toys is important to the brand overall.
The biggest message Poor Richards should
convey is a unique, safe, and warm place where
booklovers can go to socialize, explore, and learn.
The uniqueness is present currently in all of Poor
Richard’s stores, so this does not need to change very
much. The safe and warm place, however, can come
from the update into the modern world, as more
people feel comfortable in somewhere that feels
new and clean than somewhere that feels like they
have made no changes for 20+ years. These changes
will help Poor Richards keep their current custom-
er base as well as gain new customers who may not
have gone into the store previously due to its appar-
ent age.
The main challenge comes from wanting to
update without taking away what makes Poor Rich-
ards unique. Their style is what draws people to the
shops, so it would be a bad idea to completely change
this. It is just important to maintain the feel that Poor
Richards is still keeping up with the times, and not
falling behind. If people believe they are not keeping
up with the current trends and styles, or that they are
too old, they may want to go to a newer bookstore,
like Tattered Cover. So, this rebrand is necessary to
keep the public’s interest in Poor Richards not only
as a historic landmark but as an actual shop that has
items that are still relevant today.
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 Brand Attributes

� Friendly
� Welcoming
� Knowledgeable
� Unique
� Reliable
� Locally based
� Artistic
� A friend to the artists and creators of Colorado Springs

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