Shelf Awareness
James Daunt, managing director of Waterstones, told the financial website This Is Money that after three years at the head of the troubled U.K. bookseller, "We are now close to breaking even." Only last year, Waterstones lost £23 million (about $36.1 million) and the year before lost £37 million ($58 million).Among the reasons for the turnaround at the 277-store chain, according to Daunt: replacing some 200 managers; closing some shops; refurbishing others (which included "new carpets and décor, widely-spaced shelving, sofa and armchair reading areas and introducing Café W coffee shops"); updating computer systems and online operations; and ending "deals with publishers who decided the authors and how their books were displayed... at an annual cost to us of £27 million [$42.4 million]."
The company also dropped the apostrophe from its name, but this was not cited as a factor in the turnaround.
Daunt added that Waterstones' widely criticized decision to sell Amazon Kindles has led some Kindle buyers to purchase print books, too, but said overall that the Kindle business is "negligible."
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