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Waterstone's m.d. Johnson responds to Guardian attack
13.11.09 | Catherine Neilan
Waterstone's m.d. Gerry Johnson has responded in The Guardian to a piece that claimed the chain had "crushed" the publishing industry and "killed" bookselling.
"Stuart Jeffries used six pages in your G2 section to lay the book trade's perceived ills at Waterstone's door, yet found no room to highlight how our company is at the forefront of a vibrant industry that faces great challenges," wrote Johnson in the newspaper's response section.
Pointing to its New Voices intiative, "which introduce the best new literary authors- nearly always debuts - to a massive audience", its sponsorship of the children's laureate, and its hosting of "countless reading groups", Johnson said: "Books were the reason the company started, and remain the core of our business."
He added that Waterstone's stores were "populated by people who are passionate and knowledgeable, with many enjoying long bookselling careers".
He concluded: "We are flattered that in Jeffries' view Waterstone's has such a commanding position, but really it is for booksellers, publishers, writers and readers to shape the industry.
"This will be achieved not by critiquing the past but by working together to make sure writers get to write the books they want, and readers can enjoy the books they want to read. It is reassuring that the overwhelming majority of responses to his article on your website share this view."
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Yes! Just love it that Gerry reads the comments threads and uses them in the chain's defence. we'll make a blogger out of him yet.
To be fair to the overpaid chap he does make some very valid points in his piece. I do find it interesting though that when hundreds of his own staff voice concerns on this site he makes no public comment. One out of touch duffer writes a dodgy piece in the Guardian and he is all over it like a rash.
He added that Waterstone's stores were "populated by people who are passionate and knowledgeable, with many enjoying long bookselling careers".
Do Not kid yourself Gerry... the stores WERE populated with 'passionate and knowledgeable' staff. I think now you will find that they are full of part time workers who (with the exception of a few) do not have a passion for books.
I am 100 % behind you Ex Waterstones. Time for passionate and knowledge booksellers has gone. There are only low paid Temps.
Following the original Guardian article, I defended
Waterstones and laid the blame at publishers selling books at crazy discounts to Amazon and Tesco, thus enabling an arms race on silly low prices, which left booksellers with no other choice than competing to survive. However, Gerry does overplay Waterstone's role in being at the forefront of the industry.
I applaud Waterstone's on sponsoring the Children's Laureate, but I wish they would translate that commitment into action on the shopfloor. For many years Waterstone's support of World Book Day has been lacklustre, and for Children's Book Week, non-existant. Both events celebrate reading and develop a new generation of book loving customers, plus also convert parents to the cause.
I suspect the Waterstone branches being proactive in the community and backing children's literature, are former Hammicks and Ottakars bookshops still retaining an entrepreneurial spirit from days of previous ownership. I hope Gerry listens to these shops, and learns that promoting children's reading can be commercially rewarding, as well as good fun.
Disclosure:
I was once the PR Manager for the Hammicks Bookshops chain (now part of Waterstones), and I am responsible for creating the World Book Day token campaign; trialled by Hammicks in 1997, and then adopted by the UK book trade in 1998.
I feel it odd that we have replied to the Guardian but not to the bookseller. i guess now that our head of pr is back we might sort some of the messaging out again?
It is very easy for the MD of Waterstones to point to the various initiatives his company delivers for new writing, these are welcome, of course, but the best thing they could do as bookseller to support new writing is to be much more supportive and enabling of small and independent publishers. An example of their failure on this score can be found on my blog: www.peterurpeth.wordpress.com
Gerry Johnson's "passionate and knowledgeable" booksellers.
May I point out the last time I bought a book in Waterstones, the cashtill operator could barely "grunt" as though coherent language was alien to him.
If the stores are "populated by people who are passionate and knowledgeable, with many enjoying long bookselling careers", why does he not listen to them when their voices are raised so loudly in dissent, and trust them to know what is best for their stores? Wise words spouted glibly from someone who obviously doesn't believe them...
Whatever the rights and wrongs of Waterstone's the original Grauniad article was silly. It managed to be both sloppy and precious at the same time
Gerry I would like you to explain to me why I was made redundant after several years loyal service. I had been contributing to Books Quarterly for two years and had carried out a national merchandising secondment. Anyway after the disaster of the Hub and the quite frankly idiotic spiel we have to go through during every transaction "Have you got a loyalty card? Would you like such and such for
To quote Blackadder as to what would raise the troops morale "his resignation and suicide," would be a start. As for Alex Rayner who said that AFTER joining Waterstone's her passion for reading had been rekindled. Says it all really.
I am reading these fascinating comments at home at the moment due to Waterstones BANNING access to The Bookseller website in store by its staff - perhaps they just don't like staff reading the (mostly) valid responses to the Hub debacle and the now (again mostly) correct Guardian article...
Yes! Just love it that Gerry reads the comments threads and uses them in the chain's defence. we'll make a blogger out of him yet.
To be fair to the overpaid chap he does make some very valid points in his piece. I do find it interesting though that when hundreds of his own staff voice concerns on this site he makes no public comment. One out of touch duffer writes a dodgy piece in the Guardian and he is all over it like a rash.
He added that Waterstone's stores were "populated by people who are passionate and knowledgeable, with many enjoying long bookselling careers".
Do Not kid yourself Gerry... the stores WERE populated with 'passionate and knowledgeable' staff. I think now you will find that they are full of part time workers who (with the exception of a few) do not have a passion for books.
I am 100 % behind you Ex Waterstones. Time for passionate and knowledge booksellers has gone. There are only low paid Temps.
If the stores are "populated by people who are passionate and knowledgeable, with many enjoying long bookselling careers", why does he not listen to them when their voices are raised so loudly in dissent, and trust them to know what is best for their stores? Wise words spouted glibly from someone who obviously doesn't believe them...
Gerry Johnson's "passionate and knowledgeable" booksellers.
May I point out the last time I bought a book in Waterstones, the cashtill operator could barely "grunt" as though coherent language was alien to him.
It is very easy for the MD of Waterstones to point to the various initiatives his company delivers for new writing, these are welcome, of course, but the best thing they could do as bookseller to support new writing is to be much more supportive and enabling of small and independent publishers. An example of their failure on this score can be found on my blog: www.peterurpeth.wordpress.com
I feel it odd that we have replied to the Guardian but not to the bookseller. i guess now that our head of pr is back we might sort some of the messaging out again?
Following the original Guardian article, I defended
Waterstones and laid the blame at publishers selling books at crazy discounts to Amazon and Tesco, thus enabling an arms race on silly low prices, which left booksellers with no other choice than competing to survive. However, Gerry does overplay Waterstone's role in being at the forefront of the industry.
I applaud Waterstone's on sponsoring the Children's Laureate, but I wish they would translate that commitment into action on the shopfloor. For many years Waterstone's support of World Book Day has been lacklustre, and for Children's Book Week, non-existant. Both events celebrate reading and develop a new generation of book loving customers, plus also convert parents to the cause.
I suspect the Waterstone branches being proactive in the community and backing children's literature, are former Hammicks and Ottakars bookshops still retaining an entrepreneurial spirit from days of previous ownership. I hope Gerry listens to these shops, and learns that promoting children's reading can be commercially rewarding, as well as good fun.
Disclosure:
I was once the PR Manager for the Hammicks Bookshops chain (now part of Waterstones), and I am responsible for creating the World Book Day token campaign; trialled by Hammicks in 1997, and then adopted by the UK book trade in 1998.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of Waterstone's the original Grauniad article was silly. It managed to be both sloppy and precious at the same time
Gerry I would like you to explain to me why I was made redundant after several years loyal service. I had been contributing to Books Quarterly for two years and had carried out a national merchandising secondment. Anyway after the disaster of the Hub and the quite frankly idiotic spiel we have to go through during every transaction "Have you got a loyalty card? Would you like such and such for
To quote Blackadder as to what would raise the troops morale "his resignation and suicide," would be a start. As for Alex Rayner who said that AFTER joining Waterstone's her passion for reading had been rekindled. Says it all really.
I am reading these fascinating comments at home at the moment due to Waterstones BANNING access to The Bookseller website in store by its staff - perhaps they just don't like staff reading the (mostly) valid responses to the Hub debacle and the now (again mostly) correct Guardian article...