News: retail

Blackwell’s celebrates 140th anniversary with 140 books

Blackwell’s has kicked off celebrations for its 140th anniversary by choosing 140 books that reflect its mission to “change lives through reading”, with one title... Read more

Pickled Pepper Books looks to franchise bookstore brand

North London-based children’s bookshop Pickled Pepper Books is looking to franchise its brand, with owner Urmi Merchant saying he made the decision after a Waterstones... Read more

Yehrin Tong to create BAMB limited edition tote

Designer Yehrin Tong will create this year’s Books Are My Bag (BAMB) limited edition tote bag design which will be available exclusively in bookshops up... Read more

Children’s bookshop to open in West Yorkshire

A new children’s bookshop in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, will open this weekend (13th April), stocking books for children aged 0 to teen. Read more

Daunt 'sympathetic' after two-hour meeting with real living wage campaigners

Waterstones m.d. James Daunt has said he is "sympathetic" to the real living wage campaign, after sitting down with booksellers for two hours to discuss the... Read more

W H Smith reveals plans to transform post office shops with bigger focus on books

W H Smith has revealed plans to refit its post office stores with a bigger emphasis on books. Read more

W H Smith to cull backlist in new books strategy

W H Smith plans to cull its backlist and build areas of growth such as children's and lighter readers with a "forensic store by store focus... Read more

Tesco reports 29% jump in profit

Tesco has reported a 29% jump in profit and hiked its dividend, saying its performance was "strong" in an "uncertain market". Read more

Tor to hand out free books to indies in UK campaign

American science fiction and fantasy imprint Tor is giving independent bookshops in the UK free copies of its titles in a new campaign. ... Read more

Blackwell's to open new Belfast bookshop

Blackwell’s will open a new bookshop in Belfast on Monday (8th April) after moving out of Queen's University's student union. Read more

Blackwell’s gender pay gap narrows

Blackwell’s has revealed a gender pay gap of 1.4% in favour of men, a fraction lower than last year’s 1.8% and still less than the national... Read more

James Daunt says pay row obscures 'decent progress' at Waterstones

Waterstones managing director James Daunt has warned that the company's future is not yet secure. Read more

‘We can’t afford it’; Daunt hits back at real living wage campaign as petition approaches 8,000

Waterstones m.d. James Daunt has warned the business cannot afford to pay the real living wage to its most junior staff and increase the pay... Read more

French-English bookshop Caravansérail to close after two years

French-English bookshop Caravansérail will close at the end of April, almost two years after starting up in London’s East End. Read more

Hudson and Nicholls urge Waterstones to pay real living wage

Waterstones is under mounting pressure to pay its staff the “real living wage” with authors Kerry Hudson and David Nicholls backing the campaign as Waterstones... Read more