Shakespeare & Co.

What Shakespeare & Co. does

Shakespeare & Co. is an independent, single-location retail bookstore that has operated in Missoula, Montana since 1998, located at 103 S 3rd St W on the city's Hip Strip near the Clark Fork River. The store sells new books, children's books, gifts, journals, cards, gift certificates (denominations $15–$100), and a private-label apparel line of cotton t-shirts and long-sleeve shirts featuring John Waters-quote designs by local illustrator Courtney Blazon, printed by local partner Garage Tees on Bella+Canvas blanks. The company serves local readers, literary enthusiasts, and gift shoppers through in-store retail, an e-commerce site (shakespeareandco.com), mail order shipping, curbside pickup, and a secondary online ordering sub-brand called Garthazon (garthazon.com) framed as a local alternative to large online book retailers.

The business model is direct-to-consumer retail with three primary revenue streams: book sales, branded merchandise, and free community author events that drive foot traffic and ancillary purchases. Pricing is unit-based at standard retail; no subscription, licensing, or recurring-revenue component is in evidence. Distribution is overwhelmingly domestic and concentrated in the Missoula trade area, with national mail-order fulfillment as a secondary channel. Marketing is community-led, leveraging an email newsletter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr, supplemented by an active in-person events calendar that includes co-sponsored programming with conservation nonprofits such as the Vital Ground Foundation and the Center for Large Landscape Conservation.

The company operates with a small team of approximately 6 employees and has no identified parent company, institutional investors, or external funding rounds. There is no proprietary technology stack, no API, and no AI/ML components disclosed. The business model depends on the bookstore's role as a community literary hub — anchored by the curated selection, the recurring author events, and the locally produced merchandise — to sustain foot traffic and customer loyalty against larger online and chain competitors.

Name

Shakespeare & Co.

Legal name

Shakespeare & Co.

Website

https://shakespeareandco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shakespeare & Co. is an independent bookstore in Missoula, Montana, founded in 1998. It sells new books, gifts, and Courtney Blazon–designed apparel to local readers and literary enthusiasts through one retail store, e-commerce, mail order, and recurring author events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Bookstore

NAICS

Book Retailers and News Dealers (4592)

SIC

Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

General Bookstores (New Books) (CRALAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Children’s Books & Educational Readers Retail (CRALAAAD)

Keywords

• Independent bookstore
• Retail bookselling
• Literary merchandise
• Author events hosting
• Curated book retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Missoula

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Core revenue from selling new books, kids books, and literary merchandise in-store and online.
2. Merchandise: Sale of branded merchandise including t-shirts, gift certificates, journals, cards, and gifts.
3. Author Events: Free community events that drive foot traffic and book sales, featuring local and national authors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Shakespeare & Co. is an independent, full-service bookstore in Missoula, MT that sells new books, kids books, gifts, journals, cards, t-shirts, and gift certificates both in-store and via an e-commerce site. The bookstore supplements product sales by hosting regular author readings, book launches, and community book discussions, while supporting local creators through exclusive branded merchandise.

Product overview

Shakespeare & Co. is an independent full-service bookstore offering a curated selection of new books, children's books, gifts, journals, cards, and branded apparel including t-shirts and long-sleeve shirts designed by local artist Courtney Blazon. The store also provides gift certificates in various denominations and hosts regular author events featuring readings and discussions with local and national authors. The company operates as a single-location retail establishment in Missoula, MT, with mail order and local pickup options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Garthazon: An online ordering platform operated by Shakespeare & Co., accessible at garthazon.com, described as 'the easy way to order from Shakespeare & Co.'

Products and services

• Gift Certificates Pre-set and customizable gift certificates available in denominations from $15 to $100, redeemable for books and other store merchandise, available for store pickup or USPS mail delivery.
• Women's T-Shirts Cotton t-shirts featuring a John Waters quote design by Courtney Blazon, printed in Missoula, priced at $24.00, available in multiple colors.
• Women's Long Sleeve Shirts Long sleeve cotton t-shirts featuring a John Waters quote design by Courtney Blazon, printed in Missoula, priced at $32.00, available in Black and Deep Heather.
• Men's & Unisex T-Shirts Unisex cotton t-shirts featuring a John Waters quote design by Courtney Blazon, printed in Missoula, priced from $24.00, available in multiple colors.
• Author Events Regular free author readings, book launches, and discussions featuring local and national authors, held at the Missoula store location.

Quantifiable outcome

• Regularly hosts multiple author events monthly featuring both local Montana authors and nationally recognized writers

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Center for Large Landscape ConservationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresented partnership with Hillary Rosner for May 2026 event discussing her book Roam about reconnecting ecosystems. The event explored wildlife conservation and landscape connectivity.
• Vital Ground FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsored event with Kevin Grange for his book Grizzly Confidential, featuring a multimedia presentation and Q&A moderated by Vital Ground staff. Also partnered for Hillary Rosner Roam event.
• Garage TeesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal Missoula printer that produces Shakespeare & Co. branded t-shirts on Canvas Unisex Jersey Short Sleeve Tees by Bella+Canvas.
• Courtney BlazonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent illustrator who designs exclusive Shakespeare & Co. merchandise including t-shirts featuring John Waters quotes. Designs are printed locally by Garage Tees.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Powell's Books: Iconic independent bookstore based in Portland, OR selling new and used books plus curated merchandise. Directly comparable to Shakespeare & Co. as a community-anchored independent bookstore with strong event programming and omnichannel retail.
• Elliott Bay Book Company: Independent bookstore in Seattle, WA with a heavy author-events calendar and curated new-book selection. Closely aligned with Shakespeare & Co. on community gathering, event-led traffic, and curated independent retailing.
• Tattered Cover Book Store: Long-established independent bookstore in Denver, CO known for author events and community programming. Highly comparable in mission, event-driven loyalty model, and single-region independent bookstore positioning.
• The Strand Bookstore: Famous independent bookstore in New York City with a curated new-book assortment and branded merchandise. Comparable as an iconic single-location independent bookstore leveraging brand and curation for differentiation.
• BookPeople: Independent bookstore in Austin, TX offering new books, gifts, and frequent author events. Comparable community-event model and curated retail mix including branded merchandise.
• Parnassus Books: Independent bookstore in Nashville, TN founded by author Ann Patchett, known for community programming and curated new-book retail. Similar in scale and event-led positioning.
• Politics and Prose: Washington, DC independent bookstore with a renowned author-events program and curated inventory. Directly comparable to Shakespeare & Co.'s model of using events and curation to compete with chain and online retailers.
• Green Apple Books: Independent bookstore in San Francisco, CA with a curated new-book selection, gifts, and community events. Comparable independent bookstore with multi-channel retail and curated merchandise.

Broad incumbents

• Barnes & Noble: Largest U.S. bookstore chain with broad assortment, café locations, and an events program. Operates in the same category as Shakespeare & Co. at much larger scale, providing the primary chain-store competitive backdrop.
• Amazon Books: Amazon's physical bookstore concept plus dominant online book retail. The dominant competitive force on price and convenience that independent bookstores like Shakespeare & Co. must differentiate against.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/190056381081570
• Instagraminstagram.com/shakespeare_andco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shakespeare-&-co.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shakespeare & Co.