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Daunt: Waterstone's should be choice of 'serious reader'

05.12.11 | Bookseller Staff

Waterstone's m.d. James Daunt has called Amazon a "ruthless, money-making devil", and said he has a "responsibility" to ensure bookshops remain on the high street.

In a profile interview in the Independent, Daunt backed physical bookshops as a better environment for the consumer than online stores, and said of Amazon: "They never struck me as being a sort of business in the consumer's interest. They're a ruthless, money-making devil." He added: "The computer screen is a terrible environment in which to select books. All that 'If you read this, you'll like that'—it's a dismal way to recommend books. A physical bookshop in which you browse, see, hold, touch and feel books is the environment you want."

Daunt also said he "wouldn't bet against publishers" over the next five years, saying: "The editorial process and the marketing—someone has to do it. I don't think agents are the best people to do it. Authors certainly aren't—they need editing." He said that either publishers, agents and authors will all survive together over the next five years, or "they'll all disappear, swept away, replaced by one big fat Amazon, getting his way. And if the bookshops go, they will never come back. So I have a responsibility."

Daunt reiterated the chain is "inventing" its own e-reader, and said: "You'll walk into a Waterstone's and there'll be a bit of the shop where you can look at e-readers, play with them. We're inventing one of our own—perhaps we'll call it the Windle—and we're working on the Barnes & Noble approach. They've embedded their own e-book [reader], called the Nook, within their bookshops and have succeeded in taking market share from the Kindle."

He also said: "You have to let the booksellers decide how to curate their own stock . . . My vision is of a local bookshop completely at ease within its local community. Looking after its local authors, who are often their best customers, a very good reason to be nice to them. Where Waterstone's used to send booksellers a photo and say, 'Make sure you have all these books on display,' we leave it to the individual. I'll say, 'Here's a crime fiction table—what's the best crime fiction you want to have there?'

"If we're doing our job properly, we should be the bookshop of choice for the serious reader. But where we compete with W H Smith and supermarkets is for people who don't read much, or are buying for others—it's hard enough to sell them just one book."

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By Veteran

While Mr Daunt may cast Amazon in the role of the devil and while I am not the latter's advocate, it has to be recognised that Amazon have also brought a goodly amount to publishers' tables. Without Amazon the much-discussed long tail of publishers' backlists would have stood little chance of visibility and hence sales over the past few years. In fact, for the past couple of years, had Amazon, Book Depository and others not taken up the slack (frontlist and backlist) while Waterstone's was in it's own slough of despond, many of us might not have survived to see Mr Daunt's election to Head Curator of anything.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 11:53
By RC

Sadly, serious readers are on the decline...

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 11:59
By Anti-literary-snobbery

If it is called the Windle, it will be nick-named the Widdle.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 12:07
By Hairy Mamut

Sales in freefall, Mamut deciding he won't invest further as Waterstones has to be self-funding and Daunts vision looking a little more confused than at the outset - it's going to be a tough 3 months.
Interestingly Barnes & Nobles latest figures look pretty poor - you can't heap all your eggs in their basket any longer as they move slowly down the Borders trajectory in America.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 13:15
By Jonny Gibbings

What, exactly, is a serious reader? This labelling is the sort of attitude that effected the music industry. Downloads? SERIOUS music lovers will never deviate from vinyl much less CD.

At Waterstones, the children that read the children's books, are they serious? These established, autocratic empires seem to have forgotten books are entertainment, for consumption. And that there are demographics that like many flavours, form fetish to Graphic Novel, maritime to learning a language. Any reader is a serious one if prepared to hand over their hard earned cash to make a purchase. You can't knock companies like Amazon because they read the writing on the wall and responded first. Giving consumers a choice, even used books.

Amazon, bay, itunes, each made on-demand retail online work with the minimum of fuss. Quietly, advertising books you might like, because others whom made the same purchase as you had bought. Even reviews by readers. Information, choice, on-demand. I would say a Serious retailer would have been on it's game and offered a similar solution first.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 14:03
By pixie Hotmuffin

Well I've never had a comment deleted so quickly. I stand by what I say, Mr Daunt shouldn't sneer at the opposition and Amazon are doing a good job for most of their customers.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 14:10
By mary portash

I must say that I have found Amazon spot on with their recommendations and they have introduced me to many new authors. A far better way to sell more of their goods than those ridiculous 'link-save' items that some people seem to want to push down one's throat at every turn.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 14:31
By Matthew Clarke

The Kindle from Amazon: £89
The Kindle from discount retailer Argos: £89
The Kindle from discount electrical retailer: £89
Anyone would think Amazon doesn't like competition from the High Street.
Has Amazon told these guys not to discount?

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 15:16
By Karen

I want bookshops to stay on the high street - but I don't think dividing the audience into 'serious' readers who buy from Waterstones and essentially dimwits who hardly buy any books and buy from supermarkets is the way.

Can bookshops survive on snob business? It's not like Saville Row - Waterstones cannot sell bespoke books. Will someone really pay double the price just for bragging rights (when they could easily buy from Amazon & lie).

And those non-serious people buy their favourite authors all the time - even if their favourite authors specialise in crime or romance or fantasy and wouldn't be considered serious. That's the market Waterstones needs to win over - otherwise they'll all be in Tesco or The Works & Waterstones will be shut.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 15:44
By StevieBullsaTatter

They should be renamed the Borg. Resistance is futile.
But they are excellent at what they do and I buy lots of books from them. Sadly, cannot recall the last time I bought a book from my local Waterstone's and, as an ex bookseller, I feel a spasm of guilt for saying that.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 15:46
By Strontium Labrador

I don't suppose Amazon makes very much money from the Kindle itself; the real profit comes from creating a captive market which is obliged to buy all its e-books from one source.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 17:45
By Notorious

How can Daunt say he's backing physical bookshops and serious book lovers should shop there over 'evil' Amazon when he is having to close stores (Milton Keynes Midsummer to be the latest casualty) because bricks and mortar book shops aren't competitive enough. His firm sale deals with publishers haven’t made a difference as the RCM’s they’ve appointed don’t have a clue how to tackle local promotions and discounts they offer just don’t compare with the supermarkets and the internet. Physical bookshops are not sustainable in the current mode; they may work in high end of London where people can still afford to pay full price in exchange for an atmosphere. I consider myself a ‘serious’ book lover having previously worked for many years in the trade and I do buy at least one book each week however price does drive me to check out the whole market and if Waterstones is going to go back to its snobby Dillon’s roots I will not be checking out their prices in future but heading straight to buy from the devil!

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 19:22
By Ratty

Funny Guy!!!!
Bookseller's no longer have any autonomy over the books that are sold in store. Although the new pricing has got great potential, unfortunately the current implementation of this policy is too reactionary and as a result it is too confusing, whilst also being misused. The new range buying system is not working, leaving many stores in a tried and distressed state. The RCM position requires a greater level scrutiny, if it is to prove to be a success. Frontlist buying is so important, that the structure around the position should although for daily ordering and not the slow method, which is currently being used.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 19:45
By Get Real

Well said !

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 21:52
By Daphne Bentwater

I visited a branch of Waterstones today in a well know shopping mall near Bristol and simply felt muddled and confused by the displays, the overcrowding of the shop with stock and the front of the shop, where surely books should be, was full of "other product". Me, I'm back to the sanity of Amazon.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 21:56
By A publisher

Prediction.

This time next year (if things don't drastically change) waterstones will be half the size, if it is there at all.

Shame.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 21:59
By mavis rimmel

I second that!

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 22:09
By Corey T

Amazon are good at what they do, but they are not perfect. I actually find some of their recommendations quite head-scratching and, personally, I don't find the prospect of reading 4026 other people's wildly different reviews that enticing. Can't generally be beaten on price, but often I don't want to wait for my book, and I don't want to pay for Prime.

BUT...Daunt needs to sort his own house out before casting Amazon as the Anti-Christ. The supposed move to local autonomy just hasn't happened. One poorly-maintained bay of local interest books aside, the branches are still full of the same big xmas books you'll find everywhere else. What exactly are the RCMs doing? At this rate, I don't think that position will be around in 6 month's time.

Ending up doing exactly the same thing as WH Smith's will not benefit anyone - Smith's, Waterstone's nor the book buyer.

I want Waterstone's to find their niche, and the localised route is very much the way forward, but the execution - or maybe just the will or freedom to do so at branch level - just isn't there.

Are the RM's still peddling their murky, self-serving, destructive powers?

Tue, 06/12/2011 - 02:03
By Anna Jacobs

I'm a 'serious reader' in that I read at least three books a week, mainly novels, and prefer to buy them new.

But I don't want to read serious books or acclaimed literary books, which are often too miserable for me. I want to be entertained, enlightened sometimes about a background different from my own, and left feeling happy, whatever happens in the middle of a story.

Simple requirements, you'd think. But every year I have far more money to spend on books than I can find books to buy. How sad is that, Mr Daunt?

Booksellers and publishers continue to target younger female readers, while older readers like me despair sometimes of finding books with mature characters and story arcs that cover other things than dating and shopping.

Best book I've read in years was 'Major Pettigrew's Last Stand'. I'm just re-reading Barbara Delinsky's 'Lake News' becaue I felt like a top quality read. It's wonderful, too. But after that, I feel like Katisha in the Mikado 'Where shall I find another?'

Tue, 06/12/2011 - 06:44
By pixie Hotmuffin

Me too.

Tue, 06/12/2011 - 08:49

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