The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

Neill Denny is editor-in-chief of The Bookseller. He will be blogging on the book business and on how the print magazine is produced each week.

Retail Awards: New-century booksellers

20.09.07

It is tempting to say that The Bookseller Retail Awards 2007 represent a triumph for traditional bookselling, except for the fact that traditional bookselling has changed so radically in recent years. A brilliant bookshop today is much more than a good-looking store with a half-decent range and friendly staff. Online sales, integrated marketing and promotions, events, publicity, non-book products and very often good coffee (or ice cream) all play their part.

Blackwell (Retail Chain of the Year) fought off The Book People (Direct Bookseller of the Year) and Asda (Martina Cole General Retailer of the Year) to win this year’s overall crown as Headline Bookselling Company of the Year. The 128-year-old bookseller demonstrates the evolution of the trade perfectly. As well as growing and consolidating its traditional markets—revenue growth from institutional, corporate and professional is well above market average—all the elements of its two-year-old recovery plan are working together to create a cracking overall performance. Taken-as-read strengths such as staff knowledge, locally tailored range and regular store refits combine with digital-era developments like integrated instore and online promotions, strong sales of digital OS mapping and the established Blackwell Reward Card’s online customer database. In a tough climate, Blackwell is opening new stores and opportunistically tapping markets through its temporary Connect sites. It’s a great all-round performance.

Bertram Independent Bookshop of the Year Jaffé and Neale represents a similar transformation of a business. It is also a great example of the much-vaunted “third hub” concept: a third place beyond home and work where people come to meet, spend time and indulge in a little light shopping. Accordingly, this Chipping Norton bookshop is also a café, art gallery and homewares store, and has positioned itself at the heart of its local community—and has indeed re­invigorated that very community. It is no less of a bookseller for being more than a bookseller.

Elsewhere, the awards acknowledge the powerhouse that is “Richard & Judy”, Amazon’s pre-Potter marketing chutzpah and The Book People’s indefatigable Ted Smart. But perhaps the last word should go to the nation’s top store manager, Waterstone’s Chris Laister-Smith, who is profiled in this issue. Great stores under great managers are more vital than ever.