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Newly opened book store Under the Greenwood Tree run by former senior publishing executives will be looking to expand once its first store, based in South London's Clapham, establishes itself, its owner has said.
Sophie Greenwood was formerly international sales and marketing director at Penguin before she opened the store in December. Greenwood has recruited the former head of the children's department at Blackwell's Oxford Street store Natalie de la Ossa as store manager.
Greenwood said she was pleased with the early progress, with the 0-to-8 age range being the most popular of the store's 0-to-12 full portfolio, and early feedback cited the "quirkier" books as being among the biggest winners including titles by author Shaun Tan.
Despite the high rental she said the location was an "area where people need books". Finding another specific location with the same demographics could be tough, according to Greenwood, who is initially focused on making the first store work before expanding. "We'll make it work as a single store and then if we see another location later on down the line then we'll go for it. It will depend on the exact right place," she said.
Greenwood admitted the success depended on the store also selling toys and incorporating a cafe. "To be blunt it would not stack-up just selling books. Especially as it is in an area of high rents," she explained.
After one month's trading Greenwood revealed the cafe accounts for 20% of sales and that toys were essential to the mix as they were much higher value goods than books.