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Waterstone's has scooped the top prize at the 2008 Bookseller Retail Awards, beating tough competition from category winners W H Smith and Play.com. Independent bookshops Watermill Bookshop in Aberfeldy and London's Tales on Moon Lane also received awards.
More than 500 industry figures and authors attended the dinner at the Natural History Museum last night (Thursday, 18th September), hosted by comedian Alexander Armstrong. Waterstone's m.d. Gerry Johnson collected the top award, the Headline Bookselling Company of the Year, for the chain.
The judges ruled that despite concerns about an ailing retail market, the three booksellers shortlisted for the top award were "in rude health". Waterstone's was lauded for the success of its loyalty card, Writer's Year promotion, online growth and its Get Selling bookseller training. One advocate on the panel said: "Waterstone's has gone back to what it is instinctively good at, with knowledge being key to bookselling."
The chain also won High Street Retailer of the Year, beating competition from last year's winner Blackwell, as well as Foyles and Borders. It won the Nielsen Book Marketing Campaign of the Year award too, for Writer's Year.
W H Smith picked up two awards, with Gatwick South manager Rob Urquhart winning The Bookseller Manager of the Year. The chain also won the Martina Cole General Retailer of the Year. "They've realised that you don't always have to match supermarkets on price, and that choice, store environment and in-store service are just as important," said a judge.
The "quiet heroes" of retail—Alan Little and his son Jonathan—won the Random House Group Award for Outstanding Contribution to Bookselling. Over the past 22 years they have turned Gardners from a tiny distributor and wholesaler to the UK's largest single book wholesaler, with annual turnover of more than £135m.
The Usborne Children's Bookseller of the Year was retained by Borders. Its children's book specialists in each store were seen as a core element, but the chain was also praised for such new initiatives as introducing space for reluctant readers.
Kevin and Jayne Ramage's "remarkable" Watermill Bookshop in Aberfeldy won the Bertrams/THE Independent Bookseller of the Year. After lengthy deliberation, when nominees David's Bookshop and Simply Books were highly commended, Watermill came through for its healthy sales and profit growth in the past three years.
London's Tales on Moon Lane became the Walker Books Children's Independent of the Year for its "unshakeable commitment to making reading fun", while the Norfolk Children's Book Centre, children's winner last year, won the inaugural Penguin Award for Green Retail Initiative of the Year.
Play.com emerged from tough competition to clinch the DHL Global Mail Direct to Consumer Bookselling Company of the Year and Bertrams/THE won the IBS Bookmaster Supply Chain Initiative of the Year. Also, The National Year of Reading seized the HarperCollins Award for Expanding the Retail Market.
The winners in full
The Walker Books Children's Independent of the Year: Tales on Moon Lane
The Bertram/THE Independent Bookseller of the Year: The Watermill Bookshop, Aberfeldy
The Martina Cole General Retailer of the Year: W H Smith
The Bookseller Manager of the Year: Rob Urquhart, W H Smith Travel
The IBS Bookmaster Supply Chain Initiative of the Year: Bertrams/THE
The Usborne Children's Bookseller of the Year: Borders
The Penguin Award for Green Retail Initiative of the Year: Norfolk Children's Book Centre
The Nielsen Book Marketing Campaign of the Year: Waterstone's
The HarperCollins Award for Expanding the Retail Market: The National Year of Reading
The DHL Global Mail Direct to Consumer Bookselling Company of the Year: Play.com
High Street Retailer of the Year: Waterstone's
The Random House Group Award for Outstanding Contribution to Bookselling:
Alan Little and Jonathan Little
The Headline Bookselling Company of the Year: Waterstone's