The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

« Headlines

Bookshops turn cut-throat

21.07.08

Bookshops are the artfully maintained façades for one of the most cut-throat industries in Britain, says the Times. Bookselling is necessarily tough because there are no significant own-brand books or exclusive products so that customers can only be wooed through clever marketing and ruthless price-cutting.

The costliest example of the struggle for market share is the Harry Potter franchise. Asda’s offer of the paper-back of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for £1 resulted in eight out of ten Harry fans buying their copy from the supermarket, but at an estimated loss of £3.50 per copy. Philip Stone, charts editor at The Bookseller, suggests that the 29,700 sales cost Asda more than £100,000 in a week. Other companies cannot compete. The second-cheapest offer is Asda’s online shop, which offers the book for £6.59 (including £2.73 delivery). Tesco’s online price is £7.23 (including £2.74 delivery), undercutting Amazon by 1p. Most other shops have set their price at £8.99.

The Times

Retail Bookshops harry potter Asda