A preview look inside Waterstones' new Lewes store

26.06.14 | Lisa Campbell - The Bookseller

Waterstones new “idiosyncratic” Lewes store will officially open on Saturday (28th June), featuring a prominent children’s area and a café stocked with local produce.
The new shop has been erected in Lewes' historic Dial House building, which was originally a Quaker school for young ladies founded in 1826.
Inside shots of the store taken just before opening reveal a quaint children’s area decorated with bunting and toys, while a crisp fiction section showcases titles in floor-to-ceiling book cases, framed by traditional pillars.

The floors and book casing is the same style as those in the Waterstones refitted stores. Seating areas are also situated in the children’s and fiction sections for people to enjoy a coffee and a cake while surrounded by books.

Julie Howells, Waterstones’ shop operations project manager, said a small group of customers who had been given a preview tour of the store earlier in the week had praised it. “They loved it,” she said, adding “it’s a darn fine start."
Howells added: “It's even better in real life…If the feedback we had over the weekend is anything to go by, it is likely to generate oodles of money.”

Waterstones managing director James Daunt has previously described the shop as “the most idiosyncratic” in the company’s portfolio.

Waterstones has recently been experimenting with different shop formats and has recently announced it will open a store called The Southwold Bookshop in Southwold, instead of its usual Waterstones branding.