James Daunt, the man brought in to transform the fortunes of commercial property bookshop Waterstone’s, has launched an astonishing attack on Amazon. Speaking to the Independent Mr Daunt, a 48 year old Cambridge graduate, described the online retailer as a “ruthless money-making devil” that has never worked in the consumer’s interest. However he conceded that many Waterstone’s branches had been allowed to become shabby and that the chain was in need of a makeover.
Daunt’s remarks follow Amazon’s recent acquisition of online rival Book Depository which significantly strengthened its market position. This prompted strong criticism of the regulators from the Booksellers Association which warned that the move threatens the future of commercial property bookshops. “Bookshops play an important cultural and community role on our high streets and they are already facing the toughest conditions in order to survive;” the association said.
Daunt, who built an independent chain of commercial property book sellers, was appointed as Managing Director of Waterstone’s earlier this year. when the company was acquired by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut. He immediately announced his vision to reintroduce the values on which the success of Waterstone’s had been built prior to its sale by founder Tim Waterstone who opened the company’s first store in 1982.
Waterstone set out to build a classy, up-market bookshop that would appeal to a sophisticated clientele. Since its sale to WH Smith –who subsequently sold it to HMV- industry watchers have noticed a dilution of that ethos and a general decline in standards. There has been criticism of the increasing number of celebrity books on prominent display at the expense of serious literature amid claims that the retailer has lost sight of its core market.
Daunt has spent the past months visiting many of the company’s 300 commercial properties to explain his vision to staff. “A general element of my philosophy;” he says, “is that you have bookshops which mirror the tastes of your customers as closely as possible.” To this end Daunt intends to return a certain amount of autonomy to stores enabling them to order their own stock and promote the books of their choice.
Many in the industry have welcomed the stance Daunt is taking and hope that it will see Waterstones occupying the ground it once held. Others wonder if this is possible in a rapidly changing market and ask if bookshops might eventually go the same way as record shops given the rise in e-book sales. Gaunt says he believes in “a physical bookshop in which you can browse, see, hold, touch and feel books.” However this faith has not prevented Waterstone’s from announcing the launch of its own e-reader to take on the “ruthless devil” at its own game.
Encouraged by the success of US bookshop Barnes and Noble, whose e-reader has delivered a significant boost to revenues, Waterstones plans to introduce the model in 2012. The product, which Daunt perhaps jokingly suggests may be called the Windle, would allow customers to download e-books in the company’s stores. However with Amazon enjoying over 50% of the e-book market making an impact on Kindle sales might prove difficult.
There was good news for commercial property bookshops this month however. Year on year sales figure from the Bookseller show a £5.5 million rise in the sale of printed books in the run-up to Christmas. Waterstone’s, and the industry in general, will welcome these figures.
