Pound shops overtake bookshops on high street

21.11.11 | Bookseller Staff - The Bookseller

The number of pound shops are outnumbering the amount of bricks and mortar bookshops on the high street for the first time, according to new data.
The Telegraph reports in the year to the end of October there was a 14.2% increase in pound shops, taking the total figure to 3,005 across 487 town centres. According to research from the Local Data Company, there were 2,705 bookshops in the same area.
Matthew Hopkinson at the Local Data Company said: “'Pound shops have taken advantage of the growth in value spend by consumers and the availability of space due to all time high vacancy rates which in return means much lower rents. Previously unaffordable locations in good pitches are now the home to many of these shops who compete head on with the supermarkets and other established retailers such as Boots and Superdrug.”