Waterstones buys Foyles to defend bookshops against Amazon

[Artaxerxes]

they'll pile the tables high with shite.

not so long ago there was a blackwell's over the way from foyles, that's been gone a few years now. i wouldn't be surprised if they expand the cafe space - as they've done on gower street - to the detriment of the range of stock.

The Piccadilly one is mostly cafe space now

It's also far to badly air conditioned, probably to many lattes.

 

[Sue]

The enthusiasm and knowledge of the booksellers was great back in the day. They could help find new stuff you'd never heard of and order it from the States or wherever.

I did hear it was easy to shoplift at Foyles. Were the rumours true?

Back in the day, one of my then flatmates worked in Foyles. The were really picky about who they employed yet the pay was bloody awful. Think my flatmate was not alone in supplementing his wages in kind. (He owned a lot of books .)

 

[Pickman's model]

The Piccadilly one is mostly cafe space now

It's also far to badly air conditioned, probably to many lattes.

I think I've been in the piccadilly branch of waterstones more times than any other bookshop without buying a book, due to the poor range of titles held. It promises much more than it delivers

 

[equationgirl]

That is bad news. How many book shops have Waterstones put out of business? Seems to me their just trying to increase market share.

James Thins in Edinburgh was decimated by Waterstones when it set up there. The old Edinburgh independents such as baumeisters disappeared one by one thereafter.

 

[DaveCinzano]

I miss Unsworth Rice & Coe in Bloomsbury - this is an interesting interview from 1998, after they'd opened a branch in Bristol:

Charlie Unsworth | Sheila Markham

 

[equationgirl]

I miss Unsworth Rice & Coe in Bloomsbury - this is an interesting interview from 1998, after they'd opened a branch in Bristol:

Charlie Unsworth | Sheila Markham

What happened to them?

 

[Pickman's model]

What happened to them?

Moved to Euston Road opposite bl, then closed

 

[equationgirl]

Moved to Euston Road opposite bl, then closed

Sad

My favourite bookshop in Edinburgh had a stationery department as well as books, some of mine still have their price stickers on. Now long gone.

I have been to the strand Waterstones, it's ok but feels bland in some way. They don't seem to carry many titles of even the most popular authors, which I find curious.

 

[UrbaneFox]

My nearest Waterstones is utter crap. The section on Feng Shui books was as long as my bathroom.

However, I live in a stupid part of town, so it's probably my own fault.

 

[A380]

If I could buy e-books from physical bookshops I would. I read all my non-fiction and fiction electronically now.

The only physical books I buy are illustrated. ( so graphic novels, reference books, DK ).

I think the future might be for specialist book stores only. Forbidden Planet still seems to be doing Ok, the Book Hive in Norwich is a good example. Likewise the Last Book Store in LA offers a model.

I don’t like that as a future, but I think it will be.

 

[Pickman's model]

The death of paper has been prophesied so frequently it's a cliché

 

[imposs1904]

The death of paper has been prophesied so frequently it's a cliché

I wouldn't trust the paper it was written on.

 

[UrbaneFox]

Spineless comment.

 

[JimW]

And it's left me slightly foxed.

 

[hash tag]

Spineless comment.

Could read that like a book.

 

[stavros]

I discovered this morning that the existing majority shareholder, a third generation Foyle, lives in the good old British book centre of Monaco, so my affection for the familial idea has since dwindled.

 

[Dom Traynor]

A lot of the problems people are raising about the understocked, over priced retailers could in my view be solved by having a single website where you can order almost any book and get it delivered straight to your home or a locker in a local shopping centre, in a day or two at a reasonable price, or even just download it to your e-reader depending on preference.

I might patent that idea thinking about it

 

[A380]

A lot of the problems people are raising about the understocked, over priced retailers could in my view be solved by having a single website where you can order almost any book and get it delivered straight to your home or a locker in a local shopping centre, in a day or two at a reasonable price, or even just download it to your e-reader depending on preference.

I might patent that idea thinking about it

You should call it Plate.

 

[DotCommunist]

so foyles is locked in struggle with waterstones eh. is it....Foyle's War?

 

[Dom Traynor]

You should call it Plate.

I was going to go for Orinoco

 

[flypanam]

So looks like Waterstones is saving bookshops by not paying it's front line staff a decent wage which is a bit Amazon like.
Waterstones says it can't pay living wage, as 1,300 authors support staff appeal

 

[editor]

So looks like Waterstones is saving bookshops by not paying it's front line staff a decent wage which is a bit Amazon like.
Waterstones says it can't pay living wage, as 1,300 authors support staff appeal

I wonder how much James Daunt, managing director of Waterstones, trousers every year?

 

[marty21]

Back in the day, one of my then flatmates worked in Foyles. The were really picky about who they employed yet the pay was bloody awful. Think my flatmate was not alone in supplementing his wages in kind. (He owned a lot of books .)

I worked for Waterstones and Dylans , years ago (late 80s/early 90s) there was a lot of 'book liberation' going on then

 

[Orang Utan]

If you can't pay your workers enough money to live on, then you're not a viable business, ffs

 

[Orang Utan]

I worked for Waterstones and Dylans , years ago (late 80s/early 90s) there was a lot of 'book liberation' going on then

I worked for them and never nicked owt. Wish i had now!

 

[hash tag]

Waterstones staff don't get treated like Amazon staff. Read to end of Guardian report and you will see only three similar retailers payca real living wage.
this could mark the end of the bookshop.

 

[equationgirl]

I've been to the Foyles on Charing Cross Road, and the crime section was woeful. It was also in an oddly shaped corner on the mezzanine level - I think the stationery section was larger. A great shame.

 

[hash tag]

Now Blackwells Waterstones acquires Blackwell’s, the UK’s biggest independent bookseller

"The acquisition will be viewed by some as a regrettable end to the family ownership of a cherished independent and academic bookseller. To others, it will be heralded as a turbo-boost for real-world bookshops in the battle for dominance with their online rival Amazon."

"Blackwell’s chief executive, David Prescott, said the acquisition would “ensure the future” of the bookseller, saying Waterstones had outlined a plan to “invest in our people, our shops and in our growing e-commerce operation”."

Hmmmm

 

[William of Walworth]

Just seen that news above -- shocking!

In the past I've had many long visits to the main Blackwells in Broad Street, Oxford, and I was always able to contrast it very faviourably to Waterstones ...

 

[dessiato]

It’s a shame that good independent shops are being merged, but it’s probably the only way they’ll survive against the likes of Amazon. Not just the bookshops either I suspect