Chief executive James Daunt says bookstore chain enjoyed a much more profitable Christmas than in 2012
Waterstones chief executive James Daunt. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian
Bookstore chain Waterstones saw underlying sales fall "a smudge" below last year as its Kindle e-readers proved less tempting in the face of competition from iPads and other tablet computers.
The 300-store chain, which is trying to revive its fortunes under the ownership of the Russian businessman Alexander Mamut, was also hit by the storms which swept the UK on what is usually its busiest day of the year, 23 December.
"We trade on the high street and only have a small presence online and footfall on the high street was a challenge in December," said the chief executive, James Daunt. "But we were well set up to come through with a particularly good performance and then the major storm hit us so that was disappointing."
He said the company had expected sales of the Kindle e-reader – which it offers shoppers as an alternative to physical books – had been hit by stronger competition compared with last year from a much broader range of alternatives, from Tesco's Hudl to Samsung's Galaxy.
But Daunt said Waterstones, which slid £37.3m into the red in 2012, had enjoyed a much more profitable Christmas than in 2012 as it had trimmed its costs while competition from the supermarkets had mellowed.
The firm looks set to have grabbed a bigger share of the physical books market as the retailer's sales of paperbacks and hardbacks were up against a 6.5% fall recorded by Nielsen BookScan service.
Daunt said Waterstones had been helped in some ways in 2013 by the lack of a book series popular with the masses such as Fifty Shades of Grey or the Harry Potter books, which were easier for supermarkets to promote.
Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson's autobiography was Waterstone's biggest seller this Christmas, for example, but it was followed closely by Stoner – a book by John Williams first published in 1965 which became a surprise hit last year, selling 20,000 hardback copies in the store.
Another success for Waterstones was its reserve and collect service which saw a 40% rise in sales. Daunt said he hoped to boost sales via this route further with an update to the retailer's website and mobile app later this year.
But Daunt admitted that the company still had at least a year of heavy investment in stores, logistics and IT ahead of it before it could head back to profitability. "We are fixing pretty much everything," he said.
The 300-store chain, which is trying to revive its fortunes under the ownership of the Russian businessman Alexander Mamut, was also hit by the storms which swept the UK on what is usually its busiest day of the year, 23 December.
"We trade on the high street and only have a small presence online and footfall on the high street was a challenge in December," said the chief executive, James Daunt. "But we were well set up to come through with a particularly good performance and then the major storm hit us so that was disappointing."
He said the company had expected sales of the Kindle e-reader – which it offers shoppers as an alternative to physical books – had been hit by stronger competition compared with last year from a much broader range of alternatives, from Tesco's Hudl to Samsung's Galaxy.
But Daunt said Waterstones, which slid £37.3m into the red in 2012, had enjoyed a much more profitable Christmas than in 2012 as it had trimmed its costs while competition from the supermarkets had mellowed.
The firm looks set to have grabbed a bigger share of the physical books market as the retailer's sales of paperbacks and hardbacks were up against a 6.5% fall recorded by Nielsen BookScan service.
Daunt said Waterstones had been helped in some ways in 2013 by the lack of a book series popular with the masses such as Fifty Shades of Grey or the Harry Potter books, which were easier for supermarkets to promote.
Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson's autobiography was Waterstone's biggest seller this Christmas, for example, but it was followed closely by Stoner – a book by John Williams first published in 1965 which became a surprise hit last year, selling 20,000 hardback copies in the store.
Another success for Waterstones was its reserve and collect service which saw a 40% rise in sales. Daunt said he hoped to boost sales via this route further with an update to the retailer's website and mobile app later this year.
But Daunt admitted that the company still had at least a year of heavy investment in stores, logistics and IT ahead of it before it could head back to profitability. "We are fixing pretty much everything," he said.
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