| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? 16:34 - Feb 27 with 4029 views | ipswich78 |
Waterstones has been sneaking books onto the high street in secret, using a series of unbranded "local" book shops to sell its wares in towns where opening a big W.A.T.E.R.S.T.O.N.E.S. with coffee and a helipad and all that would bristle with the locals a bit too much.
Such as the cute sounding Southwold Books in Southwold...
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2017/02/have-you-been-conned-by-a-fake-waterstones/
It's a very interesting approach, some might say deceptive? Not sure myself. |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 16:38 - Feb 27 with 3161 views | jeera |
Was just looking at that myself. Bit naughty really.
You might deliberately shop there paying that bit extra thinking you're supporting a local business I suppose.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39101186 |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 16:39 - Feb 27 with 3148 views | ipswich78 |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 16:38 - Feb 27 by jeera |
Was just looking at that myself. Bit naughty really.
You might deliberately shop there paying that bit extra thinking you're supporting a local business I suppose.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39101186 |
It's an interesting model and I would be amazed if Waterstones were the only ones. I recall Tesco doing a similar thing with Coffee Shops are few years ago, not sure if that 'chain' is still around though. | |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 16:41 - Feb 27 with 3127 views | flashblue |
Waterstones is a cracking business now. They have had to totally change their business model into a set of local businesses. Head office leaves them alone to make decisions locally. |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 16:54 - Feb 27 with 3095 views | MedwayTractor |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 16:39 - Feb 27 by ipswich78 |
It's an interesting model and I would be amazed if Waterstones were the only ones. I recall Tesco doing a similar thing with Coffee Shops are few years ago, not sure if that 'chain' is still around though. |
The Tesco coffee shops were called Harris & Hoole. Set up as a family business, brought in Tesco for money reasons, Tesco caught a cold & sold out 4 years later. Serves them right for trying to pull a smart one . |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 17:30 - Feb 27 with 3030 views | GeoffSentence |
Seeings as the boss of Waterstones said this a few years ago
"In 2014, he said: “There’s an appetite for a bookshop in the town. The fact we’re owned by a chain shouldn’t matter too much.”"
It doesn't sound like they have been trying to hide it. |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 18:56 - Feb 27 with 2945 views | stonojnr |
seems totally reasonable to me, its not Waterstones fault the Kensington on Sea lot have a pathalogical dislike to chainstores.
Its a dedicated book store, unlike the gift shop that sells books on very limited basis, which they didnt have before and its promoting books in a really positive way.
maybe if they didnt keep selling all the housing as 2nd homes and holiday lets, business rates wouldnt be so much of an issue up there. but I always pop into Costa on principle when I visit, Ill have to add Southwold books as a venue to visit too :) |  | | |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 19:53 - Feb 27 with 2888 views | brogansnose |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 16:38 - Feb 27 by jeera |
Was just looking at that myself. Bit naughty really.
You might deliberately shop there paying that bit extra thinking you're supporting a local business I suppose.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39101186 |
Hmm, I think its cheeky and underhand if there are true independent booksellers in the town to masquerade as one but if not them I'm not against the concept. The trouble is that people want independent shops but don't actually support them and that goes for pubs, bakers and butchers with the biggest threat to bookshops and music shops being Amazon leading to a zombie high street.
Harry is the boy for an opinion on this one though. |  | | |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 20:00 - Feb 27 with 2874 views | jeera |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 19:53 - Feb 27 by brogansnose |
Hmm, I think its cheeky and underhand if there are true independent booksellers in the town to masquerade as one but if not them I'm not against the concept. The trouble is that people want independent shops but don't actually support them and that goes for pubs, bakers and butchers with the biggest threat to bookshops and music shops being Amazon leading to a zombie high street.
Harry is the boy for an opinion on this one though. |
Fair point you make there. I hadn't really looked closely enough to realise they were alone in their trade there.
Still feels a bit off to me though if I'm honest. | |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 20:20 - Feb 27 with 2852 views | MJallday |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 19:53 - Feb 27 by brogansnose |
Hmm, I think its cheeky and underhand if there are true independent booksellers in the town to masquerade as one but if not them I'm not against the concept. The trouble is that people want independent shops but don't actually support them and that goes for pubs, bakers and butchers with the biggest threat to bookshops and music shops being Amazon leading to a zombie high street.
Harry is the boy for an opinion on this one though. |
if i recall, Harry was a senior manager at waterstones head office. so im sure he'll have 1 or 2 words to say :) |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 20:22 - Feb 27 with 2845 views | MaySixth |
was in there on Saturday afternoon
had no idea
poor book selection tbh |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 20:31 - Feb 27 with 2822 views | jeera |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 20:20 - Feb 27 by MJallday |
if i recall, Harry was a senior manager at waterstones head office. so im sure he'll have 1 or 2 words to say :) |
Is it too late for me to backtrack? | |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 20:44 - Feb 27 with 2804 views | hochiblue |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 20:31 - Feb 27 by jeera |
Is it too late for me to backtrack? |
The sad conclusion to all of this is that the only shops you will see on the High Street will be those that sell something that Amazon can't sell. Hence so many hairdressers, coffee shops, nail bars etc.
Slightly ironic that Waterstones and WHS priced the small independents out of business, but now find themselves threatened by Amazon, and so are going for a local model. Didn't realise the Southwold shop was Waterstones - used to be Woodwards Hardware, I think. Delightful old fashioned bookshop on the other side of the High Street, now long gone. I guess I'd rather Waterstones than no bookshop at all. I like Daunt Books which is also mentioned.
If you want those shops on the High Street, got to use them rather than Amazon. | | | |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 20:50 - Feb 27 with 2792 views | Superfrans |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 16:41 - Feb 27 by flashblue |
Waterstones is a cracking business now. They have had to totally change their business model into a set of local businesses. Head office leaves them alone to make decisions locally. |
Not completely the case. There may be some local decisions made, but it is a centrally stocked/marketed operation as a whole.
The problem with Waterstones is that they do, by and large, promote the same half-dozen to dozen books in every store. I get to their stores quite regularly and you really do feel if you've been in one of them, you've been in them all. |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 21:06 - Feb 27 with 2760 views | HarryfromBath |
Apologies for not joining in on this discussion sooner. One thing that I don't understand is why this story has blown up in the national media today as I am certain that the Southwold Bookshop opened back in 2014.
The idea is catchy as Waterstone's can use their extra margin to operate profitably where a stand-alone independent may struggle. They can also get around the cloning of high streets which may small high-end towns fight tooth-and-nail to prevent happening.
They look like wolves in sheep's clothing, but I wonder how profitable they are and if they are worth the effort. To give you an idea of the financial model, a biggish independent bookshop turns over c.£500k annually and this will spit a c.£100k profit out on average. This would be a good scenario.
Bookshop costs are pretty fixed so you usually don't have to double your staff costs if you double your turnover. The downside however is that should the bookshop sales drop to £350k, you are now only breaking even.
These shops are not guaranteed to make a big profit and a proportion will be marginally profitable, and this is why I reckon we have not seen a massive roll-out of the concept. That said, Waterstone's may have been developing the concept in a three-shop trial and are now ready to push it out.
One of the newspaper pieces said that locals would know that they were part of a chain, but that visitors would not. Given that these shops rely on regular local trade, they have no choice but to replicate the service an independent offers, i.e.booksellers who know what they are talking about and will stop at nothing to get the right book for their customer.
One poster above said that Waterstone's were leaving booksellers alone to make decisions locally. A local author to me popped into the shop today having challenged them on this point on social media. She said that Waterstone's had replied that this was something they were working on, not necessarily the same thing.
The whole model stands or falls on this. The range of stock a bookshop keeps is more nuanced than in the majority of other retailers. If booksellers in these shops are completely free to choose the books they want and where to get them from, they will be more authentically independent. If head office or the algorithms are doing the buying, then forget it. |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 22:07 - Feb 27 with 2653 views | hochiblue |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 21:06 - Feb 27 by HarryfromBath |
Apologies for not joining in on this discussion sooner. One thing that I don't understand is why this story has blown up in the national media today as I am certain that the Southwold Bookshop opened back in 2014.
The idea is catchy as Waterstone's can use their extra margin to operate profitably where a stand-alone independent may struggle. They can also get around the cloning of high streets which may small high-end towns fight tooth-and-nail to prevent happening.
They look like wolves in sheep's clothing, but I wonder how profitable they are and if they are worth the effort. To give you an idea of the financial model, a biggish independent bookshop turns over c.£500k annually and this will spit a c.£100k profit out on average. This would be a good scenario.
Bookshop costs are pretty fixed so you usually don't have to double your staff costs if you double your turnover. The downside however is that should the bookshop sales drop to £350k, you are now only breaking even.
These shops are not guaranteed to make a big profit and a proportion will be marginally profitable, and this is why I reckon we have not seen a massive roll-out of the concept. That said, Waterstone's may have been developing the concept in a three-shop trial and are now ready to push it out.
One of the newspaper pieces said that locals would know that they were part of a chain, but that visitors would not. Given that these shops rely on regular local trade, they have no choice but to replicate the service an independent offers, i.e.booksellers who know what they are talking about and will stop at nothing to get the right book for their customer.
One poster above said that Waterstone's were leaving booksellers alone to make decisions locally. A local author to me popped into the shop today having challenged them on this point on social media. She said that Waterstone's had replied that this was something they were working on, not necessarily the same thing.
The whole model stands or falls on this. The range of stock a bookshop keeps is more nuanced than in the majority of other retailers. If booksellers in these shops are completely free to choose the books they want and where to get them from, they will be more authentically independent. If head office or the algorithms are doing the buying, then forget it. |
Thanks Harry, thats illuminating! I guess there is a degree of autonomy with these local shops, maybe 80% algorithm 20% local. I notice the Southwold one has a disproportionate number of books about Suffolk (hooray)/walking/birdwatching, and then the normal stuff that you see everywhere.
Daunt, on the other hand, carries a very different stock to Waterstones.
The problem we have where I live now is that the big name traders who come into the High Street can pay higher rents than standalone locals. Indeed, I've seen comments from the local council about encouraging M & S to raise the level. It then becomes a bit self fulfilling, in that the true standalone local traders simply can't afford to trade. A bit sad, but I guess its progress (of a sort). | | | |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 07:45 - Feb 28 with 2544 views | Deano69 |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 21:06 - Feb 27 by HarryfromBath |
Apologies for not joining in on this discussion sooner. One thing that I don't understand is why this story has blown up in the national media today as I am certain that the Southwold Bookshop opened back in 2014.
The idea is catchy as Waterstone's can use their extra margin to operate profitably where a stand-alone independent may struggle. They can also get around the cloning of high streets which may small high-end towns fight tooth-and-nail to prevent happening.
They look like wolves in sheep's clothing, but I wonder how profitable they are and if they are worth the effort. To give you an idea of the financial model, a biggish independent bookshop turns over c.£500k annually and this will spit a c.£100k profit out on average. This would be a good scenario.
Bookshop costs are pretty fixed so you usually don't have to double your staff costs if you double your turnover. The downside however is that should the bookshop sales drop to £350k, you are now only breaking even.
These shops are not guaranteed to make a big profit and a proportion will be marginally profitable, and this is why I reckon we have not seen a massive roll-out of the concept. That said, Waterstone's may have been developing the concept in a three-shop trial and are now ready to push it out.
One of the newspaper pieces said that locals would know that they were part of a chain, but that visitors would not. Given that these shops rely on regular local trade, they have no choice but to replicate the service an independent offers, i.e.booksellers who know what they are talking about and will stop at nothing to get the right book for their customer.
One poster above said that Waterstone's were leaving booksellers alone to make decisions locally. A local author to me popped into the shop today having challenged them on this point on social media. She said that Waterstone's had replied that this was something they were working on, not necessarily the same thing.
The whole model stands or falls on this. The range of stock a bookshop keeps is more nuanced than in the majority of other retailers. If booksellers in these shops are completely free to choose the books they want and where to get them from, they will be more authentically independent. If head office or the algorithms are doing the buying, then forget it. |
Lovely article. I had no idea book shops turned over £10k a week, that quite heartwarming with kindles and amazon et al. |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 09:14 - Feb 28 with 2502 views | WeWereZombies |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 21:06 - Feb 27 by HarryfromBath |
Apologies for not joining in on this discussion sooner. One thing that I don't understand is why this story has blown up in the national media today as I am certain that the Southwold Bookshop opened back in 2014.
The idea is catchy as Waterstone's can use their extra margin to operate profitably where a stand-alone independent may struggle. They can also get around the cloning of high streets which may small high-end towns fight tooth-and-nail to prevent happening.
They look like wolves in sheep's clothing, but I wonder how profitable they are and if they are worth the effort. To give you an idea of the financial model, a biggish independent bookshop turns over c.£500k annually and this will spit a c.£100k profit out on average. This would be a good scenario.
Bookshop costs are pretty fixed so you usually don't have to double your staff costs if you double your turnover. The downside however is that should the bookshop sales drop to £350k, you are now only breaking even.
These shops are not guaranteed to make a big profit and a proportion will be marginally profitable, and this is why I reckon we have not seen a massive roll-out of the concept. That said, Waterstone's may have been developing the concept in a three-shop trial and are now ready to push it out.
One of the newspaper pieces said that locals would know that they were part of a chain, but that visitors would not. Given that these shops rely on regular local trade, they have no choice but to replicate the service an independent offers, i.e.booksellers who know what they are talking about and will stop at nothing to get the right book for their customer.
One poster above said that Waterstone's were leaving booksellers alone to make decisions locally. A local author to me popped into the shop today having challenged them on this point on social media. She said that Waterstone's had replied that this was something they were working on, not necessarily the same thing.
The whole model stands or falls on this. The range of stock a bookshop keeps is more nuanced than in the majority of other retailers. If booksellers in these shops are completely free to choose the books they want and where to get them from, they will be more authentically independent. If head office or the algorithms are doing the buying, then forget it. |
Another consideration is the click and collect service Waterstones offer - if you know what book you want but do not want to use Amazon you might be put off by Waterstones P&P. However, you can avoid the P&P by collecting from a Waterstones shop which is useful if you are in a town or city later on and not desperate for the book. Amazon avoidance for me, footfall for Waterstones but I still prefer it when I find what I want in a charity shop or second hand bookshop - a sort of unplanned but slightly forced serendipity... |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 09:18 - Feb 28 with 2500 views | GunnsAirkick |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 18:56 - Feb 27 by stonojnr |
seems totally reasonable to me, its not Waterstones fault the Kensington on Sea lot have a pathalogical dislike to chainstores.
Its a dedicated book store, unlike the gift shop that sells books on very limited basis, which they didnt have before and its promoting books in a really positive way.
maybe if they didnt keep selling all the housing as 2nd homes and holiday lets, business rates wouldnt be so much of an issue up there. but I always pop into Costa on principle when I visit, Ill have to add Southwold books as a venue to visit too :) |
I love Southwold and enjoy visiting still but it gets me down in a way going there now. It's Chelsea by the Sea, such a decimation of a local community (not to say all of the "non-locals" are bad, I've met some nice ones).
Last time I went there and there was a Londoner in the Lord Nelson mocking the Suffolk accent. The bar maid told him to shut up as there are still "proper" locals who drink in the pub and they wouldn't take kindly if they overheard him (even by Norwich born wife was p*ssed off, but then a similar thing is happening in North Norfolk). |  | | |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 09:27 - Feb 28 with 2488 views | ipswich78 |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 09:14 - Feb 28 by WeWereZombies |
Another consideration is the click and collect service Waterstones offer - if you know what book you want but do not want to use Amazon you might be put off by Waterstones P&P. However, you can avoid the P&P by collecting from a Waterstones shop which is useful if you are in a town or city later on and not desperate for the book. Amazon avoidance for me, footfall for Waterstones but I still prefer it when I find what I want in a charity shop or second hand bookshop - a sort of unplanned but slightly forced serendipity... |
Without putting words in your mouth why do you try to avoid buying from Amazon and also prefer a charity shop over say Waterstones for buying a book? Are you a book fan? [Post edited 28 Feb 2017 9:29]
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 11:12 - Feb 28 with 2394 views | WeWereZombies |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 09:27 - Feb 28 by ipswich78 |
Without putting words in your mouth why do you try to avoid buying from Amazon and also prefer a charity shop over say Waterstones for buying a book? Are you a book fan? [Post edited 28 Feb 2017 9:29]
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Well, as far as I know Waterstones pay their fair whack of taxes and Amazon use suspect accounting and work practices to avoid as much as they can. So Waterstones, independent the last time I looked and British to boot, contribute to the state (the group of four nations) I live in.
My son had a mate who worked for Amazon and, as we continually hear, hated it. When I go into Waterstones the staff seem happy and friendly (although I accept that there may be some coercion from company policy to present themselves so).
With three bookshelves full of stuff to read I would not say I am a book fan, I am a bit sick of the things to be honest, but I have my wish list and a project so I carry on adding to the backlog...and reading as fast as I can without my eyes sliding off the page. As I said in my first post there is serendipity, an unexpected delight, in finding a book, DVD or CD that you have always wanted in a charity shop (and the spin off of your money helping a good cause) or secondhand bookshop, especially if you are finding a first edition of a book (then, I suppose if you sell the book on at a profit you should donate the money to charity).
Also, in a High Street environment where you are being marketed at the whole time, I like the unpressurised atmosphere of places where you can browse unhindered. [Post edited 28 Feb 2017 11:15]
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 11:59 - Feb 28 with 2336 views | jpr_23 |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 21:06 - Feb 27 by HarryfromBath |
Apologies for not joining in on this discussion sooner. One thing that I don't understand is why this story has blown up in the national media today as I am certain that the Southwold Bookshop opened back in 2014.
The idea is catchy as Waterstone's can use their extra margin to operate profitably where a stand-alone independent may struggle. They can also get around the cloning of high streets which may small high-end towns fight tooth-and-nail to prevent happening.
They look like wolves in sheep's clothing, but I wonder how profitable they are and if they are worth the effort. To give you an idea of the financial model, a biggish independent bookshop turns over c.£500k annually and this will spit a c.£100k profit out on average. This would be a good scenario.
Bookshop costs are pretty fixed so you usually don't have to double your staff costs if you double your turnover. The downside however is that should the bookshop sales drop to £350k, you are now only breaking even.
These shops are not guaranteed to make a big profit and a proportion will be marginally profitable, and this is why I reckon we have not seen a massive roll-out of the concept. That said, Waterstone's may have been developing the concept in a three-shop trial and are now ready to push it out.
One of the newspaper pieces said that locals would know that they were part of a chain, but that visitors would not. Given that these shops rely on regular local trade, they have no choice but to replicate the service an independent offers, i.e.booksellers who know what they are talking about and will stop at nothing to get the right book for their customer.
One poster above said that Waterstone's were leaving booksellers alone to make decisions locally. A local author to me popped into the shop today having challenged them on this point on social media. She said that Waterstone's had replied that this was something they were working on, not necessarily the same thing.
The whole model stands or falls on this. The range of stock a bookshop keeps is more nuanced than in the majority of other retailers. If booksellers in these shops are completely free to choose the books they want and where to get them from, they will be more authentically independent. If head office or the algorithms are doing the buying, then forget it. |
Harry,
Are you Toppings & Co or Mr B's Emporium?
Both are quality bookshops that I go to every time I'm in Bath... |  |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 12:02 - Feb 28 with 2332 views | HarryfromBath |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 11:12 - Feb 28 by WeWereZombies |
Well, as far as I know Waterstones pay their fair whack of taxes and Amazon use suspect accounting and work practices to avoid as much as they can. So Waterstones, independent the last time I looked and British to boot, contribute to the state (the group of four nations) I live in.
My son had a mate who worked for Amazon and, as we continually hear, hated it. When I go into Waterstones the staff seem happy and friendly (although I accept that there may be some coercion from company policy to present themselves so).
With three bookshelves full of stuff to read I would not say I am a book fan, I am a bit sick of the things to be honest, but I have my wish list and a project so I carry on adding to the backlog...and reading as fast as I can without my eyes sliding off the page. As I said in my first post there is serendipity, an unexpected delight, in finding a book, DVD or CD that you have always wanted in a charity shop (and the spin off of your money helping a good cause) or secondhand bookshop, especially if you are finding a first edition of a book (then, I suppose if you sell the book on at a profit you should donate the money to charity).
Also, in a High Street environment where you are being marketed at the whole time, I like the unpressurised atmosphere of places where you can browse unhindered. [Post edited 28 Feb 2017 11:15]
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This is just some background, but my take is that Waterstone's tried to take on the dual threat of both Amazon and the Supermarkets 10 - 15 years ago by growing market share (e.g. the purchase of the Ottakar's chain) in order to give them sufficient weight.
This failed on two counts. Taking Amazon and Supermarkets on using volume was well-nigh impossible as their financial backing and power were so vast that they could always outgun you by hammering prices down for as long as it took to break you. This was an impossible battle to win.
Secondly, by creating a 300+ chain of shops, the only way to effectively manage these was through a traditional head office chain of command. This instantly cut through the autonomy which had given the shops a distinctive feel and it also deskilled many of the booksellers who were no longer curating sections and departments.
With the chain on its knees, then-parent company HMV sold it to Russian oligarch Alexander Mamut in 2011 and this crucially gave it the time to regroup and decide on a new way forward. Costs have had to be taken out to help stabilize the business but from what I can gather, they are now trying to hand back some degree of control to their booksellers.
When it comes to books, I think people have also decided how to use shops and the internet. A lady two Christmases back said 'I shop online for things I know I want, but I come into your shop for things I don't know I want', and this echoes your point. As booksellers, we can offer serendipity to our customers and watch their eyes light up when they chance upon a surprise discovery.
Having three bookshelves full of unread books is a sign of a happy and curious life as far as I am concerned. Books are relentlessly interesting as they are invariably someone's inner world made manifest, and the one curse of working in the book trade is that there is never enough time to read them all. | |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 12:05 - Feb 28 with 2321 views | HarryfromBath |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 11:59 - Feb 28 by jpr_23 |
Harry,
Are you Toppings & Co or Mr B's Emporium?
Both are quality bookshops that I go to every time I'm in Bath... |
Neither, my shop is in the suburbs south of the river and away from the town centre. It is more of a community bookshop aimed at local families in the area with a large childrens' section. World Book Day this week is a major milestone in our calendar. | |
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 12:14 - Feb 28 with 2306 views | giant_stow |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 12:02 - Feb 28 by HarryfromBath |
This is just some background, but my take is that Waterstone's tried to take on the dual threat of both Amazon and the Supermarkets 10 - 15 years ago by growing market share (e.g. the purchase of the Ottakar's chain) in order to give them sufficient weight.
This failed on two counts. Taking Amazon and Supermarkets on using volume was well-nigh impossible as their financial backing and power were so vast that they could always outgun you by hammering prices down for as long as it took to break you. This was an impossible battle to win.
Secondly, by creating a 300+ chain of shops, the only way to effectively manage these was through a traditional head office chain of command. This instantly cut through the autonomy which had given the shops a distinctive feel and it also deskilled many of the booksellers who were no longer curating sections and departments.
With the chain on its knees, then-parent company HMV sold it to Russian oligarch Alexander Mamut in 2011 and this crucially gave it the time to regroup and decide on a new way forward. Costs have had to be taken out to help stabilize the business but from what I can gather, they are now trying to hand back some degree of control to their booksellers.
When it comes to books, I think people have also decided how to use shops and the internet. A lady two Christmases back said 'I shop online for things I know I want, but I come into your shop for things I don't know I want', and this echoes your point. As booksellers, we can offer serendipity to our customers and watch their eyes light up when they chance upon a surprise discovery.
Having three bookshelves full of unread books is a sign of a happy and curious life as far as I am concerned. Books are relentlessly interesting as they are invariably someone's inner world made manifest, and the one curse of working in the book trade is that there is never enough time to read them all. |
I have a group of mates who all worked in the Leadenhall Market Branch of Waterstones years back. Sounds like they got out before those changes you mention as one of the things they all loved was the autonomy they each enjoyed in their sections. Basically it was as if they all had their own mini bookshops. It was a genuinely happy time for them and me for a while as we'd nip over to the local quite posh fish restaurant which sold us cheap beer presumably in an effort to look busy!
Anyway, one of them runs a very successful e-book business now so it's worked out well for him.
Sorry, this is probably dull, but I couldn;t let a waterstones thread pass. [Post edited 28 Feb 2017 12:15]
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| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 12:27 - Feb 28 with 2268 views | HarryfromBath |
| There's a Waterstones in Southwold? on 12:14 - Feb 28 by giant_stow |
I have a group of mates who all worked in the Leadenhall Market Branch of Waterstones years back. Sounds like they got out before those changes you mention as one of the things they all loved was the autonomy they each enjoyed in their sections. Basically it was as if they all had their own mini bookshops. It was a genuinely happy time for them and me for a while as we'd nip over to the local quite posh fish restaurant which sold us cheap beer presumably in an effort to look busy!
Anyway, one of them runs a very successful e-book business now so it's worked out well for him.
Sorry, this is probably dull, but I couldn;t let a waterstones thread pass. [Post edited 28 Feb 2017 12:15]
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Spot on, and they were happy days.
I remember the Leadenhall Market bookshop and it proved why bookshops had to remain distinctive to their customers and market. If I recall correctly, that shop closed on weekends and had a range of stock quite unlike any other in the country with a business and finance section to die for. It was a shop which exemplified the need for buying locally as no head office could begin to second-guess their customers.
In pre-2000 Waterstone's days, booksellers had sections to manage and they were pretty much autonomous as long as their sales held up and they didn't get overstocked. They knew the stock like the back of their hand and the pride in their sections and good opinion of customers and colleagues mitigated the fact that it wasn't lucrative work.
Once the buying was taken out of the shops, the booksellers lost their proximity to the stock and the sections became somewhat homogeneous. Customers often knew as much if not more about their pet subjects than booksellers and could recognise this quickly. | |
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