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Hue-man Bookstore owner: Marva Allen / Picture taken by Bennett Raglin for BR Photo Creations

Hue-Man Bookstore may not be a Barnes & Nobel, Borders, or B. Dalton bookstore, and by many accounts it has not achieved their level of popularity. So, when you are out shopping for a best-selling novel it is quite unlikely that Hue-Man will even show up on your radar…

Although, during a recent interview with Hue-Man’s co-owner and CEO Marva Allen, she described the beauty behind her book sanctuary and the life it has given to a fallen community that has been underserved for years.

According to Ms. Allen, Hue-Man is a unique bookstore that offers a unique experience. It is purposely designed afro-centric in style with a vast collection of literary work by or about African Americans; yet it also includes a tall list of New York Times best-sellers, and titles authored by Caribbean and African writers.

Go here for full article:

“Hue-Man bookstore is located in the center of Harlem on Eighth Avenue, nestled between 124^th and 125^th Street; moderate in size at approximately 4000 square feet, it attracts local residences that come to meet friends, purchase books, or simply enjoy a cup of tea.   Now open six years, Hue-man is the only African American bookstore in Harlem and has evolved from a simple bookstore to a “reading sanctuary”. 

“I joined this bookstore in 2002 as a consultant”, said Ms. Allen after having retired from USI a multi million dollar technology firm out of Southfield, Michigan; there she was co-owner and President.    In a soft spoken voice, accompanied by a chic Jamaican accent Ms. Allen explained that she came to Hue-Man to develop a growth strategy.  She believed that with her extensive business management skills and proven ability to successfully build a business her work would be value added to Hue-Man.  Ms. Allen said, “Hue-Man bookstore is a movement towards being progressive” and “making better citizens” which translates to improved reading habits and love for literature.

In 2003, Ms. Allen became deeply involved in the bookstore going from one day per week to five and in 2004 became a majority partner and CEO.   Together with her partners, she continued to restructure the business by adding a reading room where numerous book signings have taken place.  Ms. Allen created a venue through her bookstore that ultimately brought to Harlem as she says, “a new Harlem” where authors and celebrities are engaging and involved with neighborhood people.  Over the past several years, Hue-Man has been host to former President Bill Clinton, poet Maya Angelou, minister TD Jakes, and actress Angela Bassett to name a few… they have also collaborated with several local public schools to form a reading program that is driven through the Melvin Van Peebles Foundation; a foundation where Ms. Allen holds the position of Artistic Director.

Inspired by her own passion for change and to positively impact the lives of others, Ms. Allen insists that Hue-Man has clearly made a difference…  “it is a sanctuary that informs”, says Ms Allen.  “This store is economically driven” Marva Allen said, and while Hue-Man does not measure to the level of popularity or income stream as a Barnes & Noble it has provided jobs, and creates possibilities; “we can control our image”, says Ms. Allen, which she believes will set Hue-Man a part from the rest. Ms. Allen is very proud of Hue-Man’s evolution and says, “We need to participate in our own success”, “we can’t put destiny in others hands”, “therefore the future of Hue-Man will always be a work in progress”. 

With the retail book industry constantly changing, Hue-Man has some new ideas for 2009, beginning with the search of a larger space, vamped up marketing to diversify and reflect the changing neighborhood; a possible name change and building of new alliances.   Hue-Man is Harlem’s most treasured secret and Marva Allen is the woman behind its story… she is the recipient of several business awards, including: IBM & Kodak Excellence Award, Crain’s 40 under 40 and most recently, The New York Urban League community award among others.  She has five published titles under her belt… Marva is a mom, mentor, humanitarian and most importantly friend.  So when I asked Marva to give me her final word on the outlook of Hue-Man; she said “move to a Tyler Perry model” – “Hue-Man will be a reminder of people’s history”.

See the full article published in the Epoch Times: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/9553/  

This entry was posted on February 12, 2009 at 6:45 pm and is filed under Business/Companies with tags The Epoch Times. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.