Retailers report 'staggering' sales of Dan Brown
16.09.09 Victoria Gallagher in The Bookseller

Dan Brown mania has hit the shops with retailers seeing "staggering" sales on the first day of publication. Both chain and independent booksellers have reported strong sales, with some indies surprised by the level of sales with Amazon.co.uk, Asda and The Book Depository offering the title for £5.

Waterstone's buying manager for fiction Simon Burke claimed it was the retailer's "fastest selling" adult fiction ever. He added: "We have seen phenomenal sales for the new Dan Brown.

The Lost Symbol is Waterstone's fastest selling adult novel since records began and our fastest selling book since the last Harry Potter. It is vintage Dan Brown and readers can't wait to get their hands on what is set to be the thriller of the decade."A spokesperson for W H Smith said: "So far sales have met our very high expectations which means that Dan Brown will be the biggest selling author of 2009."Many indies had previously been dubious about sales of the book because of the steep discounts offered at chains and supermarkets.

However, with additional offers from wholesalers, many independent bookshops were able to offer some discount, with indies offering between £3 and £8 off the £18.99 r.r.p.
John Hudson, owner of Fordingbridge Bookshop in Hampshire said: "We've been pleasantly surprised, we've sold more than we thought we would...

We will have sold 10 by the end of the day and we consider it to be extra business that normally the supermarkets would have taken."
Vivian Archer, manager of Newham Bookshop in east London, added: "We sold out this morning, which I cannot believe, we had sold 15 by 11am.... it's absolutely staggering."Naomi Simpson of the Forget Me Not Bookshop in Cheshire, also sold 15 titles, which she said she was "pleased with" as she "didn't hold out much hope for the book". She added however that getting hold of point of sale material for the title had proved difficult, but had received two posters a couple of days before publication.Other indies spoken to by The Bookseller said that the books were not flying off the shelves. Emma Milne-White, owner of the Hungerford Bookshop in Berkshire, said she had sold five copies and that sales were "quite slow". She added: "I'm glad it is at this time of year as it will trickle on until Christmas."However, Nigel Jones of the Totnes Bookshop Dartington said that despite a big poster and a pre-order competition, only one pre-order had been received for The Lost Symbol.
Many of the nationals pick up on the level of discounting. Tim Godfray, chief executive of the Booksellers Association tells the Guardian: "With every mega-bestselling title comes a huge price war, often with the result that the trade as a whole makes very little money on its most valued assets".