Reading Between the Lines

<p>We might not think so from the comfort of Oxford’s many well-provisioned and supported bookshops, but booksellers on many of Britain’s high streets face a ‘perfect storm’ from a mixture of poor economic conditions, the rampant growth of online retailing and the move of supermarket retailers into non-food categories.

Booksellers, like record shops before them, face an additional challenge — a sea change in the way we consume the products they sell, with consumer e-book sales increasing by 188 per cent in the UK in the last six months alone.

Of course, the high street’s problems are complex and there are many stakeholders to involve and appease.

The Government review led by Mary Portas produced 27 clear recommendations. Certainly, many commentators agree that the attention given to the ‘Portas Pilots’ has generated welcome enthusiasm in towns beyond the 12 initial places chosen from nearly 400 bids, and kept the plight of high streets in the public mind.

But many also agree the largely ‘soft’ measures identified by Portas fail to get to the heart of the problem of the high costs of conducting retail businesses in high streets.

This is encapsulated in the year-on-year increases in business rates and the attitudes of some intransigent landlords with smaller retailers lacking the muscle to negotiate.

Hard measures cost real money. And for all the talk of ‘community,’ relatively few high streets are part of genuine communities. We have to recognise that people can find their sense of belonging somewhere else.

As far as booksellers are concerned, just like high streets themselves, there are winners and losers. Just recently, high street retailer WH Smith reported sales trends of books improving in the last year (even though this might be the result of the 50 Shades of Grey market), while discount book retailer The Works claimed still to be ‘trading robustly from physical books’.

Yet, in the meantime, the number of independent booksellers fell by 15 per cent in the last two years.

So what can booksellers, and particularly independent booksellers, do? In some ways. they need to continue to leverage the best of what they are already doing.

Choose both location and positioning wisely It is particularly important that bookshops are located where there are vibrant communities, reading groups and where there is unmet demand. Their brands should be positioned to appeal to the parts of the market more mainstream offers cannot reach.

Positioning involves offering desirable services (including e-book services) as well as a mix of desirable products. The best bookshops have become distinctive, quirky places – worth travelling to, worth experiencing.

Barefoot Books in Summertown is a great example of this: picking on the one area of physical bookselling to experience growth — the childrens’ market — and developing both an exciting store and novel business model.

Partner well Seek out like-minded independent retailers in town, within and across categories and actively work together to defend common interests. Bookshops should be prepared to share good practice and be prepared to take a lead.

Embed the bookshop in the life of the town surrounding the high street Our research shows independent retailers of all kinds can play an important role in sustaining a sense of community and that their role as a ‘social hub’ is recognised and welcomed by the public.

Booksellers often manifest themselves as centres for cultural activity hosting authors’ signings, reading groups and recommendation evenings both in the shop and beyond.

A good example is The Woodstock Bookshop which reaches out to support local events (poetry and literature festivals) and talks in nearby villages with products and advice, and offers discounts for local schools.

Continue to innovate Independent booksellers have an enviable record for innovation and it’s hard to suggest an innovation that has not been thought of, tried and tested somewhere.

But it doesn’t have to be a book. The Jaffe and Neale bookshop in Chipping Norton sells cakes while Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath offers a ‘reading spa’ with a ‘bibliotherapist’ to advise on the ways to spend your gift voucher.

Embrace change This does not mean giving into the perfect storm that I’ve described. While there is no magic bullet it is equally important to acknowledge the forces at work rather than hoping they will go away and to work within this context.

Independent booksellers cannot achieve this change alone. Publishers must play their part in supporting independent booksellers.

Similarly, government and landlords also need to recognise what is at risk in sacrificing the potential for rich and diverse high streets for want of taking harder decisions involving real money. We have to recognise that part of the cultural heritage at the heart of our communities is at stake.

Finally, of course, it is up to all of us. The tendency is to defend local shops and bus services while failing to use them ourselves.

But ultimately it is up to us to buy from local stores to preserve their place in our lives and communities.

<p>Dr Jonathan Reynolds is academic director at the Oxford Insitute of Retail Management at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School