Giovanni's Room, Country's Oldest LGBT Bookstore, to Shutter

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Giovanni's Room is the latest Philly indie shop to get swallowed up by the big guys. Founded in 1973, the iconic LGBT bookstore, the oldest of its kind in the country, points a finger at big box retailers like Amazon for its impending closure May 17. "The government is allowing Amazon to tighten their fingers around the throats of the publishers and drive their retail competitors out of the business by clearly monopolistic methods," store founder Ed Hermance tells The Philadelphia Gay News.

Let this be an unfortunate lesson that independents face an uphill battle to succeed in Philly retail, even if they do everything right.
· Giovanni's Room to close next month [PGN]
· Giovanni's Room [Official Site]
· Here Are the 10 Golden Rules for Succeeding in Philly Retail [Racked Philly]