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Lonely Planet trains Borders staff

10.08.07

Lonely Planet is training Borders booksellers in the travel genre in a bid to grow the retailer's sales across the category.

The scheme is currently being trialled in an unconfirmed number of Borders stores. If it is successful, it will be rolled out across the company as well as to other chain and independent booksellers. "We're teaching them not just about Lonely Planet but about the whole travel category," said marketing director Shona Thind.

It is the latest move by the travel giant to link directly with retailers in the hope of stemming the ongoing decline in travel book sales.

Last month the publisher revealed it is supplying data to branches of Waterstone's to help the high street retailer decide which travel books it should stock to maximise travel sales.

The genre hit its peak in sales in 2004 when Nielsen BookScan recorded value sales of £105.6m, but in 2006 it had slipped 3% by value (to £102.4m) and 3.7% by volume. The total books market has grown 6.7% by value and 10.1% by volume in the same period. Today the only significant area of growth in travel is small-format city guides, Thind said.

waterstone's Borders Lonely Planet

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