Emily Powell
Owner and President, Powell's Books. On 1 show, 1 appearance. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
executiveoperatorpowells.com ↗
Emily Powell is the third-generation leader of Powell's Books, the Portland, Oregon-based bookstore chain. She assumed leadership in 2010 from her father, Michael Powell, guiding the independent retail business through digital competition and operational shifts.
1shows
1appearances
12statements
2resolved
2supported
0contradicted
100%fully supported
Everything Emily Powell said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Emily Powell: Amazon Marketplace will never help independent bookstores succeed
“And Amazon is never going to help us be successful in the long run. They're going to help Amazon be successful, and I don't believe that's good for Powell's. It's certainly not good for our community, so it wasn't something we had to put a lot of brain power b…”
Powell: Amazon fails its workers and harms local economies
“They're not the best employer. They're not taking care of their people. But they're also not supporting small businesses that allow our local economies to thrive.”
Powell: Powell's closed and laid off staff before Oregon mandated shutdowns
“The governor hadn't moved yet to close us down. I think a lot of folks thought we were responding to, you know, a demand, but no, we felt really the compulsion that we need to do what we have to protect Portland. And so we shut down in the middle of the day, w…”
Emily Powell: Bookstore economics make opening in Manhattan or SF nearly impossible
“Most cities don't have a neighborhood that is an obvious fit. And I know that probably sounds strange. Think of so many wonderful places to be. But they have to have that morning to nighttime, you know, possibility for business. And then they have to have affo…”
Emily Powell: Powell's will stay in Portland rather than expand nationally
“I believe books are a deeply personal product and a consumption process. And that means we need to know our community Pretty intimately, and I don't want to presume to take my business into, say, Austin, Texas, and know exactly what that community is going to …”
Emily Powell: Powell's requires 9 AM to 9 PM pedestrian traffic
“So we say to be successful, we need nine AM to nine PM pedestrian traffic.”
Emily Powell: Powell's Books permanently closed two stores, leaving three locations
“We had five we're down to, we just closed our airport store and our home and garden store permanently. So now we have three at this point.”
Powell: Pre-pandemic internet sales were roughly 20% of Powell's revenue
“Originally, you know, pre pandemic, we would have said our internet business was maybe 20% of our overall sales.”
Powell: Powell's Books overall sales are down 75% to 80%
“Now all of our sales, you know, collectively we're down about 75 to 80%.”
Powell: Powell's Books would not have survived without PPP funding
“First of all, if not for the PPP program, we wouldn't be here today, you know, fundamentally our loan that we received. So we shut down March. 15th, we received our loan in early May. If not for that loan, we wouldn't have been able to bring people back to wor…”
Powell's Books remains financially unsustainable after exhausting its PPP funds
“At this point, of course, those funds are exhausted, but we've been able to open the stores that's helping internet business has remained somewhat steady, but no, it's not sustainable. You know, that's the bottom line.”
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Emily's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 HOW I BUILT THISLEDGER | Owner and President, Powell's Books | 1 | 12 | 100% 2/2 | full record on How I Built This → |