The Bookseller.com

17th May 2008

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Gunn: 'Anyone can sell £10 for a fiver'

13.03.08 Tom Tivnan

Academic retailers need not fear the future, as long as they build on their brands, add value and embrace the opportunities that the digital age offers. That was the message set out by Blackwell c.e.o. Vince Gunn in his keynote speech, "The Challenges and Opportunities Facing Booksellers in the 21st Century", which kicked off the APSBG conference.

Gunn highlighted the work of competitors, such as John Smith's J S Campus online initiative. He added: "A lot of booksellers are doing excellent things to meet the chal­lenges of the 21st century. These are examples of bricks and clicks coming together and making new models."

For Gunn, retailers need to engage with the online and digital world. He said: "It is a fundamental feature of bookselling survival and it is not going to go away. Out of the UK's top 20 publishers, 19 have transactional websites with only Faber not yet ­having one."

He stressed the need for collaboration between publishers and booksellers. "I sometimes get tired of the media going on and on about the death of the book. But change is coming and we could both lose out if we don't work together."

No one really knows what will happen in the future, Gunn said, so "the best that we can do is create, inform and develop that future". Academic booksellers must therefore broaden their scope, and reach out to students, libraries and lecturers with "a mixture of print and 'e'".

As the digital age brings consolidation, the value of the brand will become more crucial, and Gunn said Blackwell was engaging with this with a range of own-brand products.

Building brands can help define what value academic retailers can add, and how they can stand apart from other players, such as supermarkets. Gunn said: "At Blackwell we worked hard to wean ourselves off the discount drug. Anyone can sell £10 for a fiver."

Ultimately, the key to survival is adaptability. "No one retailer with a physical portfolio can stand still," Gunn said."

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