News

Waterstone's to strengthen buying team

Waterstone's is shaking up its buying team, seeking people for its new regional commercial and buying posts as it begins to move from local to central buying.

Current Waterstone's staff have been asked to apply for the posts, which include divisional and regional commercial managers roles, as well as jobs in the campaign and range teams. For new titles, the central buying will begin from September, but it is thought for core and local stock the central buying process will take longer. 

Publishers have been urged to help Waterstone's sell books "more intelligently" by providing the company with more information on their titles, including sending jackets and AIs to staff as soon as possible, particularly for non-fiction and children's books. 

The chain bookseller has told indie publishers: "Keep talking to us—tell us when we're missing opportunities, and continue to talk to our stores about relevant books." It is unclear how Daunt's new plans will affect the jobs of publisher reps, as it is thought that in general local stores are no longer allowed to place orders for new titles.

In an email to staff this week, Waterstone's said: "We are looking to get the team up and running quickly!" and staff have until next Friday (26th August) to apply. All the new roles are on a six-month secondment basis based in Brentford, but it is thought Daunt wants to move the head office to Waterstone's flagship Piccadilly store as early as possible, with its current Brentford head office lease understood to run out in six months' time.

The divisional commercial managers will be in charge of a team comprising 10–12 regional commercial managers. They will manage discount and margin and the relationship between the regional buying team and the central campaign and range buying teams. Each regional commercial manager will be based in a shop but will have responsibility for up to a dozen other branches based on turnover. They will discuss with stores how promotional space will be used and order, monitor and replenish books. 

A key priority of Daunt's first few months in charge of the bookseller is understood to be lowering the level of returns.

Daunt previously told staff the chain's infrastructure, from shops to systems, needed a "complete overhaul". As part of this, he moved to reintroduce central buying for new books and replenishment, but added that shops would be able to order the books they wanted, when they wanted. He said: "You will have the autonomy to curate your shops, to be entreprenurial, to exploit the physical individuality of your shops." To help this, he is thought to be dispensing with shop planograms, which dictate how the layout of each store should look.

Staff were also told they were getting a 3% pay rise recently, which will come into effect in the near future. 

Speaking earlier this week on BBC Radio 4's "The World at One", Daunt accepted the chain had failed to meet customer expectations in the past. He said: "We are a business that has not satisfied its customers for some time and is paying the price for that. Can we satisfy our customers and win them back? I would not have taken this on if I didn't believe we could, but we need much, much better bookshops."

It is also thought Waterstone's will soon appoint a woman to the role of chairperson, which will be an honorary position.

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Well given half of this is leaked from an email to a fairly small group of publishers I can understand why very little is put in writing to them!

People from our stores probably aren't so vocal yet, because a) It's boring us now how long the process has dragged, mainly thanks to the silly ass who leaked the whole thing before it was finalised, meaning it was rushed out info wise, and we've been stuck with nuggets for a good few weeks b) If the shit hits the fan, and our ordering of range really does irk, no doubt the messages of bile will once again ooze forth from the glands of the angsty c) Not every single employee is a whinging little tool over every freaking news article marked "Waterstones yadda yadda yadda". Honestly, we don't know how this'll fully pan out, and until it does, I don't get the obsession with it. Yes we are partial worried about the shake up, but if it helps, it helps. I will get pissed if I can't get certain titles, and I'm sure Daunt will be made aware of such things in due course from many, if it goes tits up. But until then....please please please.....which ever silly sod keeps leaching the e-mails and snippets of info from Compass etc. Just stop it. It's not ground breaking news. The earth won't fall apart. And if it starts another shouting debate on here, where no one has any hard facts, or evidence to back anything up.....WHO FREAKING CARES FOR IT?!? Right.....I'm off to eat some custard. Damn right your envious.

Leko, read it properly: they ARE allowing shop level ordering, just not from publishers and wholesalers but via HQ. The end result will be the same. Strikes me that they are incredibly bad at being precise about what they're doing. I only hope it's less fuzzy in their own minds.

Inwaiting - thanks I see my mistake. But if they are still allowing the stores to buy what's the point of all these new positions?

Leko, read it properly: they ARE allowing shop level ordering, just not from publishers and wholesalers but via HQ. The end result will be the same. Strikes me that they are incredibly bad at being precise about what they're doing. I only hope it's less fuzzy in their own minds.

Oh yes....and I like the discounting books idea. Returns can be a pain in the ass, and so many dead books, and damages go to waste, when taking a small hit to discount them would be far more viable, and customers love a cheap ol' book.

Why can't each shop just order from the publishers?
The publishers would agree a discounted rate with head office on all older titles, and new discounts for newer titles, and then the stores themselves can order what they think will sell in their shops with... oh, I don't know... a rep coming in?
It worked in the past (waves at Books Etc) and it would work again.
Why do the people in charge believe ordering from Head Office for 300+ stores is a good idea?

I guess someone sent/leaked the internal email that was sent to them also

Having seen the rather depressing news that three more independent bookstores are to close, one must conclude that the days of bookshops and indeed 'booksellers' are numbered. I thought it was telling that when asked about the future of bookshops rather than books themselves, James said that Waterstone's need 'much, much better bookshops'... but how will this happen? Poor staffing levels, dated offers and a terrible, terrible website (does anybody actually use it?)

Central buying must ultimately be a cost controlling exercise ahead of the expensive upgrade of IT systems next year. Repeat the Hub fiasco from a couple of years ago and it's goodnight vienna...

or are they letting stores "request" which is a whole different thing to buying. No doubt it will all come out in the wash

Where is Chikka? Haven't heard from her in ages.

Isn't it amazing - if HMV had stopped allowing stores to buy then Knott / McCloughlin / Johnson / Myers would have been voodoo dolls. But because a posh guy from Holland Park says the stores can no longer buy anything it's OK.

I just don't get it and I don't understand why the staff, who have had so much to say in the past about buying policy, are so quiet. Can anyone explain?

double posting. Sorry

It would be really helpful if publishers could actually be sent some information about who is to be sent what information where and when and what is actually happening rather than having to discern this from the Bookseller. Returns indeed must be a complete drain on the company. We were recently sent a single book back on its own by one of the ROI shops for a credit of about £5 - the book came in an envelope with 3 euros of postage on it (about £2.70 in sterling). I think this was returned as an "overstock". I have never been able to understand how you can have an overstock of one copy of a book - you need 20 copies in stock you actually have 100 that's sort of clear-cut - but an overstock of one??? Anybody with a rudimentary grasp of statistics will realise this is complete pants. Then to post it back at a cost of over half what the book cost - completely absurd. What the shops need are sale tables where the shop-soiled and the small overstocks can get dumped. When I worked in a record shop many many years ago nothing was ever returned - it was all sold through the sale browsers. Even a modest discount off the rrp 20% 25% to start is enough to shift a lot of stock this way. Obviously anything that sticks then can get more deeply discounted to shift it - it will still bring in more cash than returning for a credit. The other thing we found in the record shop was that the sale section brought customers in to the shop - who often then bought other full price stuff! Unlike 3 for 2 deals which just encourage your customers to delay coming back to the shop!

Where does The Bookseller get this information from!

I suspect they mean that a specific woman has been selected for the role and they will shortly announce her name, rather than that they've decided this role ought to be filled by someone with breasts.

We are all reading this through a "filter" of knowing James Daunt is a brilliant bookseller with real passion for the trade , and presumably a big stock acquisition budget.

If this story was read through another "filter" of previous Waterstone's Corporate Management the posts, I suspect, would be very critical .
I would certainly feel that the plan for the assembly of a new buying structure will lead to significant overstocking, lazy stock turn and returns eventually, but that is without the unknown and untested "Daunt factor" . It is true that a bookshop without books is not too clever, and he may be prepared for reduced returns on funds employed to make the shops look much better. So good luck to him. We all dream of a job where funds become a secondary issue and books alone are the core objective . Oligarch funding for fun .

The Bat says: entrepreneurial (sp?)
The chairperson's job - sounds a bit of a sinecure - can any woman apply...where do I sign?

What makes me buy a book from Amazon rather than Waterstone's is that Amazon cannot plague me with music that I haven't asked for, don't want, and irritates. So when I was in Finsbury Park last week, I went into Waterstone's to find a Christine Dwyer Hickey novel - and went out because I was plagued with speakers. I got it from Amazon. One lost sale.

Who decided to push chewing gum for the ears at me and why do they do it?

When Tim Waterstone set up the group, I don't recall muzac and I bet plaguing customers with unsolicited sounds wasn't high on Tim's agenda.

It's radical...but it can't get any worse than what we've had!

Not ALL the posts will be at Brentford..most will be shop based - but does this mean the store effected will get more staff to compensate for loosiong a gifted bookseller to the office 3 days (or more) a week?

I suspect they mean that a specific woman has been selected for the role and they will shortly announce her name, rather than that they've decided this role ought to be filled by someone with breasts.

It would be really helpful if publishers could actually be sent some information about who is to be sent what information where and when and what is actually happening rather than having to discern this from the Bookseller. Returns indeed must be a complete drain on the company. We were recently sent a single book back on its own by one of the ROI shops for a credit of about £5 - the book came in an envelope with 3 euros of postage on it (about £2.70 in sterling). I think this was returned as an "overstock". I have never been able to understand how you can have an overstock of one copy of a book - you need 20 copies in stock you actually have 100 that's sort of clear-cut - but an overstock of one??? Anybody with a rudimentary grasp of statistics will realise this is complete pants. Then to post it back at a cost of over half what the book cost - completely absurd. What the shops need are sale tables where the shop-soiled and the small overstocks can get dumped. When I worked in a record shop many many years ago nothing was ever returned - it was all sold through the sale browsers. Even a modest discount off the rrp 20% 25% to start is enough to shift a lot of stock this way. Obviously anything that sticks then can get more deeply discounted to shift it - it will still bring in more cash than returning for a credit. The other thing we found in the record shop was that the sale section brought customers in to the shop - who often then bought other full price stuff! Unlike 3 for 2 deals which just encourage your customers to delay coming back to the shop!

Well given half of this is leaked from an email to a fairly small group of publishers I can understand why very little is put in writing to them!

I worked in an independent bookshop in the States for many years, and we never returned anything but mass paperbacks and some trade paperbacks specifically designed to be returnable in the same way - ie, the covers get torn off and you just send covers back for a 50% return. The postage is minimal/unimportant and you're motivated to do some deep discounting first - we used to offer employees a 40% discount on about-to-be returned items so that even at the last second we could end up with an extra 10%. It meant we were careful in our orders of hardcovers and any kind of gift book/specialty book. But it also made the whole idea of returns make sense. I've not worked in a bookshop in the UK, but what you describe above makes no financial sense to me!

Where does The Bookseller get this information from!

I guess someone sent/leaked the internal email that was sent to them also

Isn't it amazing - if HMV had stopped allowing stores to buy then Knott / McCloughlin / Johnson / Myers would have been voodoo dolls. But because a posh guy from Holland Park says the stores can no longer buy anything it's OK.

I just don't get it and I don't understand why the staff, who have had so much to say in the past about buying policy, are so quiet. Can anyone explain?

Leko, read it properly: they ARE allowing shop level ordering, just not from publishers and wholesalers but via HQ. The end result will be the same. Strikes me that they are incredibly bad at being precise about what they're doing. I only hope it's less fuzzy in their own minds.

Leko, read it properly: they ARE allowing shop level ordering, just not from publishers and wholesalers but via HQ. The end result will be the same. Strikes me that they are incredibly bad at being precise about what they're doing. I only hope it's less fuzzy in their own minds.

double posting. Sorry

Inwaiting - thanks I see my mistake. But if they are still allowing the stores to buy what's the point of all these new positions?

or are they letting stores "request" which is a whole different thing to buying. No doubt it will all come out in the wash

Dear DJ, just wait a while. The way store managers were 'trained' by HMV/Waterstones to buy was what created the mess in part. I am fed up of seeing Essex girl celebs staring at me when I go into the bookshop, or piles of comedians' biogs crowding out the good stuff. If I was Daunt, I wouldn't trust any of them either - until they have strict guidelines set by him. He's doing the right thing by appointing new buyers who can be based in stores and who will listen to good booksellers requests.

The Bat says: entrepreneurial (sp?)
The chairperson's job - sounds a bit of a sinecure - can any woman apply...where do I sign?

Where is Chikka? Haven't heard from her in ages.

"The divisional commercial managers will be in charge of a team comprising 10–12 regional commercial managers. They will manage discount and margin and the relationship between the regional buying team and the central campaign and range buying teams. Each regional commercial manager will be based in a shop but will have responsibility for up to a dozen other branches based on turnover. They will discuss with stores how promotional space will be used and order, monitor and replenish books."

OK.....how´s that going to work ? In a timely and efficient manner I mean.

It's radical...but it can't get any worse than what we've had!

Not ALL the posts will be at Brentford..most will be shop based - but does this mean the store effected will get more staff to compensate for loosiong a gifted bookseller to the office 3 days (or more) a week?

We have a very knowledgeable person who would be an ideal buyer, but given the regional manager we have (Waterstones/HMV brainwashed), she'll never get appointed. Why? Because she doesn't do management, brown-nosing babble. I think no matter what James Daunt does, as long as these people are still in charge of regions, the rubbish will continue to be promoted. We've just had a stream of people brought in by the said RM. Some were nice people, others a nightmare, but all were, and are, useless. We continue to be chronically understaffed as it is deemed that the only time staff is needed in numbers is in the middle of the day to till bash. That leaves us with mountains of stock sitting in goods-in, returns to do, campaign changeovers. If it wasn't for the lovely customers in our store I'd have left a long time ago.

People from our stores probably aren't so vocal yet, because a) It's boring us now how long the process has dragged, mainly thanks to the silly ass who leaked the whole thing before it was finalised, meaning it was rushed out info wise, and we've been stuck with nuggets for a good few weeks b) If the shit hits the fan, and our ordering of range really does irk, no doubt the messages of bile will once again ooze forth from the glands of the angsty c) Not every single employee is a whinging little tool over every freaking news article marked "Waterstones yadda yadda yadda". Honestly, we don't know how this'll fully pan out, and until it does, I don't get the obsession with it. Yes we are partial worried about the shake up, but if it helps, it helps. I will get pissed if I can't get certain titles, and I'm sure Daunt will be made aware of such things in due course from many, if it goes tits up. But until then....please please please.....which ever silly sod keeps leaching the e-mails and snippets of info from Compass etc. Just stop it. It's not ground breaking news. The earth won't fall apart. And if it starts another shouting debate on here, where no one has any hard facts, or evidence to back anything up.....WHO FREAKING CARES FOR IT?!? Right.....I'm off to eat some custard. Damn right your envious.

I find it amusing no one leaked the e-mail about the pay rise.
My team have faith in Daunt, so yes, this looks a bit scary on paper..and yes we're not 100% sure of how this will work...and it could go wrong..but we have faith that Daunt knows what he's doing so we're happyto give it a go.

Oh yes....and I like the discounting books idea. Returns can be a pain in the ass, and so many dead books, and damages go to waste, when taking a small hit to discount them would be far more viable, and customers love a cheap ol' book.

Why can't each shop just order from the publishers?
The publishers would agree a discounted rate with head office on all older titles, and new discounts for newer titles, and then the stores themselves can order what they think will sell in their shops with... oh, I don't know... a rep coming in?
It worked in the past (waves at Books Etc) and it would work again.
Why do the people in charge believe ordering from Head Office for 300+ stores is a good idea?

I don't want to spend my time with reps - I don't have the staff to cover the sales floor.
I can look online at their websites and pick what I want, and that's what I do. It takes half the time, costs me less (in staffing and coffee) and I don't have to be bored with their tales of woe!

PS I think I love Horse! Very Witty

I believe it's taking the financial implications of Waterstones' 3000+ staff's ability to order anything out of the equation when it comes to the chain's stock holding (both range and promotion).
And rather than then put that power into the hands of a handful of people at Head Office, as people seem to assume, it's going to be people taken from those very stores and given time and resources to intelligently order for half a dozen stores under their wing.
Ordering bits and pieces from the publisher put no-one in a strong position in regards to margin OR returns, this is the "more intelligent" buying.

We are all reading this through a "filter" of knowing James Daunt is a brilliant bookseller with real passion for the trade , and presumably a big stock acquisition budget.

If this story was read through another "filter" of previous Waterstone's Corporate Management the posts, I suspect, would be very critical .
I would certainly feel that the plan for the assembly of a new buying structure will lead to significant overstocking, lazy stock turn and returns eventually, but that is without the unknown and untested "Daunt factor" . It is true that a bookshop without books is not too clever, and he may be prepared for reduced returns on funds employed to make the shops look much better. So good luck to him. We all dream of a job where funds become a secondary issue and books alone are the core objective . Oligarch funding for fun .

If anyone around now is ancient enough to remember the WH Smith TCR system I would recommend it to Waterstones. Subcription orders given to reps are passed to Head Office in time for the HO team to review the subscription figures received and bulk order accordingly. Subscription orders could be supplied direct by publishers to individual shops or the Waterstone warehouse facility could be used to "break bulk" and dispatch subs to individual shops. Reordering would take place at branch level, according to need, via Waterstones warehouse, wholesalers or direct from publishers. Thus both local and HO expertise are used to the full extent and after the initial order stocks are monitored locally, thus minimising returns. Effective, simple and cheap.

I even remember what TCR stands for ...............

Travelers call record.

Although my description is simplified it was a very good system and worked very well for many years. Yes "Travellers Call Record".

I think Waterstone's have completely lost the plot and they problems will continue. The reality is that people have stopped buying books, there is a substantial squeeze on disposable income and given VAT on everything else (including high fuel/energy bills) people will not go to the bookstores as often as they did 5-6 years ago. Waterstone's missed the train when B&N were developing their Nook. That said - the market here is much smaller, yet something should have been done in partnership. If managers don't have the freedom to buy locally - even if they change the layout of the shop that means nothing. I remember when WHS said they will allow more local buying - nothing came out if it. Big words - little action.

you have hit the nail on the head investor_smart with your wise words and timely manner. the days when folk could afford to buy books on a weekly basis have long gone and only the highly discounted titles in Sainsbury's (our chain bookseller of the year) picked up with a prawn bap will sell.

I think the last comments (not the spam) are wide of the mark. Non traditional outlets only provide a certain kind of book in a non service environment. The market is difficult at the moment and Waterstones will have to evolve on may fronts to survive. However the unwieldy buying mechanism proposed won´t work, too many people, too many small decisions being fed up and down the line, no really clear concept of what should happen, when, and who the real decision makers are. I agree with Tarquin, a modified WH Smith TCR system, fully computerised with orders keyed in as they are agreed with reps in the individual shops. The information reviewed by independent, knowledgeable, senior staff at HO and orders placed accordingly is a clear and obvious way forward. Details to be discussed, but, a plan indeed.

You know, the way Ottakar's were doing this for the last couple of years was a great balance of central input and store-based decision making. I can't think of a better way to do it that involves both sides.

What makes me buy a book from Amazon rather than Waterstone's is that Amazon cannot plague me with music that I haven't asked for, don't want, and irritates. So when I was in Finsbury Park last week, I went into Waterstone's to find a Christine Dwyer Hickey novel - and went out because I was plagued with speakers. I got it from Amazon. One lost sale.

Who decided to push chewing gum for the ears at me and why do they do it?

When Tim Waterstone set up the group, I don't recall muzac and I bet plaguing customers with unsolicited sounds wasn't high on Tim's agenda.

Yes, Colin, I have to agree with you there. The last thing one wants when browsing for a tome is to be forced to listen to the latest Mariah Scary or Amy Winebottle dross. I seem to recall that Tim W. had only classical music in his shops and played on a low level so as not to be intrusive to one's reading abilities.

Seriously?
Music playing in a shop stopped you from buying a book?
Really?
How pathetic and petty of you.
Well done.
Bravo...

Ottakars always played music. I actually find my sales drop when the music isn't working, people feel incomfortable.

But like I say to the occasional whinger, if you ask I will turn it off for you..it's not a massive problem.

Having seen the rather depressing news that three more independent bookstores are to close, one must conclude that the days of bookshops and indeed 'booksellers' are numbered. I thought it was telling that when asked about the future of bookshops rather than books themselves, James said that Waterstone's need 'much, much better bookshops'... but how will this happen? Poor staffing levels, dated offers and a terrible, terrible website (does anybody actually use it?)

Central buying must ultimately be a cost controlling exercise ahead of the expensive upgrade of IT systems next year. Repeat the Hub fiasco from a couple of years ago and it's goodnight vienna...

The HMV era saw Waterstone's drive most of their committed career booksellers out of the chain. The reason they're moving towards central buying is that Daunt knows that he simply doesn't have the talent at branch level to buy creatively and hand sell with real passion. His great task is to bring that kind of talent back. Can he do it? No, it's too late, (though I'd dearly love to be proved wrong).

HELP!

when customers come in and ask what song is playing as they really like it, I tell them I have no idea as it's playing from a magic source.

So we can provide "good customer service", how do I find out this information? I like being able to answer all questions customers give me, and this is quite a simple one.

have a wonderful day

@ Dj Pager- check the intranet discussion boards. Thread on there :)