Thursday, February 16, 2012

Life in the old dog yet

It seems to be my habit to talk about the state of Waterstones from time to time and I'm sure I've made my feelings about kindle's plain in the past (good in there way but not for me). It's a habit I'm not alone in, fellow bloggers, newspapers, and plenty of the people I work with all give versions of these things an airing - this very week in a chat with the company chairman (I say chat, but it was all very corporate...) he held forth on the death of the high street.

Having worked for a few retailers now (not many of whom are still in business - a coincidence I'm sure) I have my own opinions about this. I don't think the high street is on it's last legs, I don't think the book is in any particular danger from e-readers; books are more than just something to read, equally owning books and reading books are, alas, not quite the same thing and I think Waterstones might just have a bright future.

Admittedly I loathe shopping on-line; I don't care to share my card details farther than is strictly necessary, know too many people who have had pay-pal accounts hacked, and more than anything else hate the hassle of waiting for deliveries, missing deliveries, tracking down deliveries, missing the delivery again (why courier companies are only prepared to deliver during my work hours is a source of never ending frustration, and don't get me started on being ransomed to get my own goods at a time I might be at home) . I like going into a shop, finding something I want, paying for it, going home. 

When I do order on-line I feel a lifting of the heart when I see it's Royal Mail delivery - the Post Office has at least a pick up office in town (and not somewhere in the hinterland of Coalville or similar and unreachable by any form of public transport) that's open at reasonable hours and they don't often want to see my passport or non existent driving licence. Better yet I adore John Lewis' Click and Collect - order and pick up from the shop. Problem with your goods - that's okay they'll deal with it there and then and no nonsense about re posting and any questions can be given to a real live helpful person. It works for me.

Still an actual shop is better and Waterstones is a good example of a company that feels like it's finding it's way again. Leicester has two branches, neither of them large, both developing a distinct personality, and both full of helpful, knowledgeable, staff. It is my deep held conviction that if a business has a decent proposition (like selling books) and is confidant enough to stick with it, it should do okay. You can't always compete but it isn't always necessary, or even desirable to try. If amazon and the supermarkets can undercut on best-selling titles that's fine, let them - they can't be making a lot of money and I think there are enough people out there (like me) who find the physical bookshop offer things that amazon can't - the unlimited choice might not be there but the chance of finding something tempting by chance is (also they will let you use their sellotape in an emergency) and I'm prepared to pay a pound or two more for that.

More importantly shops are somewhere to go too, to meet people in, to look at things in. How we do business is evolving, I just don't believe it's changing as much as some pundits would have us believe. From what I can see my Waterstones' are doing a lot better than they were eighteen months ago (I'd love to ask but doubt they'd tell) there seem to be more customers, the range is better, and the staff seem more upbeat. In the current economic conditions all of that's heartening. I hope it lasts and I hope they go on to be one of the great success stories coming out of the recession. 

15 comments:

  1. Entirely agree with you here. Just back from a weekend in Glasgow and the excellent Borders bookshop is no more. Apparently gone for some time now, and replaced by a shop selling jeans with a window display of some hundreds of old sewing machines (?). I too hope Waterstones and especially the small independent bookshops outlive the recession and thrive. Nothing beats wandering around a bookshop, browsing and then alighting on a new book, a new author, a new subject and being told by the staff "Oh, I loved this book" and then being regaled with more details of the writer etc. No online reviews can match that, and the sheer joy of walking out of a bookshop with your new purchase, raring to find a cosy corner somewhere to lose yourself in the writers prose! Long live the 'High Street' :)

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    1. Here's another alternative : http://www.hive.co.uk/hive-network/

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  2. It's nice to read something positive about bookshops at last! I too believe that bookshops do have a future if they can sort themselves out, and how nice that they share their sellotape too.

    Since the centres of every British town I've ever spent much time in seem to be heaving with people during shopping hours, I too believe that the death of the high street must be exaggerated. Not that people = purchases, but it helps. People do still crave a sociability and a tactile experience (if those are the right words) which the internet cannot provide.

    Helen (gallimaufry)

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  3. Hmmm. Maybe I take that back a bit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9087192/High-street-shop-closure-rate-hit-14-a-day-in-2011.html

    Not that it contradicts your argument about Waterstone's Hayley, but maybe I should stick to writing about things I know about...

    Helen

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    1. Hi Helen, there are hundreds of reasons why retailers fail and certainly looking at my city centre I don't see how it will ever recover from this recession, on the other hand I see plenty of thriving Market Towns with a good mix of apparently successful traders.

      My experience with Oddbins (as an example) was that it lost its confidence in its identity, from there on in it was all downhill. Successful companies have things people want to buy but also confidence in themselves. You can't always compete but if you have a good enough proposition you don't have to. Pierene Press are doing well, so I assume are Persephone - both have a strong identity and a definite niche.

      I think if Waterstones (as another example) stay faithful to their customers and are clear about who and what they are there's every reason to hope they'll thrive.

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  4. Excellent post which articulates much better than I could some of the thoughts I have about Waterstones and on-line shopping. I love to browse in Waterstones and I don't see why the kindle and books can't exist side by side. I ordered a jumper on-line this week from Laura Ashley and when it came it was gigantic and the colour was different to what I'd expected, so now I've got all the hassle of packing it up and sending it back. Two things about Waterstones still annoy me though - dropping the apostrophe and sticking an Amy Tan novel in their collection of Japanese writers!!

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    1. Amy Tan?!? My reasons for not owning a kindle are a)can't afford one, b)object to buying technology that will soon be outdated and demand replacing, c)tend to need to see a book to read it. My mother loves hers though, it suits her reading and her current lifestyle. I can't imagine a world without internet shopping now, but wouldn't much fancy living in one where you couldn't go to a shop to get what you wanted. Truly these are first world problems...

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  5. I do hope you're right Hayley! I'm one of those who doesn't want a Kindle (or its ilk)--I love the heft & smell of a real book in my hands! Those predictions that books will go the way of buggy whips, vinyl records, and cassette tapes saddens me no end!

    Like you, I shop my local bookstores (both new & used) first, then search trade sites online, then online sellers. The high street is going to change, has already started changing, but my hope is that it stays itself enough to be useful to all ages, not just the jeans & Starbucks set.

    Kate

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    1. I hope so too because it's how I make a living and heaven knows what else I'd do after all this time in retail. It reassures me that vinyl keeps coming back though. High streets should change and evolve - there's plenty of room for improvement but you're so right - there is much more to life than jeans and starbucks.

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  6. I don't know Hayley - I hate to be a killjoy, but I find the three or four Waterstones I've actually shopped at not much use for anything. Admittedly, I do love my Kindle and e-books. I feel no need to own a modern paperback version of new or old books (been there, done that and still have too many for my shelves!). Amazon's delivery to my Kindle means that I get the book instantly on our computers, ipad, iphone and Kindle (where ever I want it in fact). The sort of books I'd love to browse and buy in Waterstones - children's picture books, new cooking, crafts, fashion and travel books for example - all seem to be very boringly chosen and few on the ground. Plus they're almost never discounted and frankly there's always a discount on Amazon and when the book is starting at hardcover prices that really counts for me. Plus you can usually browse the first few pages online on Amazon too. I do miss the huge Borders in Bournemouth - great for buying and browsing, wonderful foreign mags, delicious Starbucks coffee and plenty of greetings cards too. I don't think the high street Waterstones near me match the experience one iota though.

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  7. Not a killjoy at all Donna, my local Waterstones were dire for a while but have improved. High street shopping suits me and I like to spend my money there if I can. I mildly hanker after an ipad and would probably find myself reading on it if I had one. Almost all my cookbooks come from amazon because it's so much cheaper and that matters to me, but with the paperbacks I favour there isn't always much of a price difference in which case instant gratification is an easy winner. I can also empathise with the too many books issue - I ran out of space a while back and my flats not getting bigger - but the books are more to me than something to read - I love them!

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  8. The big W'stones in Oxford appears to be finding its feet after a difficult transition period where they couldn't appear to decide what to replace the 3for2 tables with ... I buy most of my books locally though in the two (yes 2!) indie bookshops in my town. Abingdon is about to undergo a facelift - the 1970s concrete precinct is getting the 21stC villagey shoppe facelift - hope it works, as half the shops are now empty now the work is about to begin. The other streets are thriving though which is good news.

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    1. I wish I had even 1 independent bookshop locally. There are brilliant ones in the Scottish borders which I spend as much time as I can in when visiting family up there.

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  9. I'm feeling a bit of a Waterstones resurgence at the mo - The Manchester Deansgate store has had a reshuffle and it has made a marvelous difference - huge room devoted to literature, strategically placed comfy sofas and even a BAR! Yes, a bar....mmmm books & gin...

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