SPONSOR
DESCRIPTION Simon & Schuster UK is one of the leading general book publishing companies in the UK. The group is based in London with sister companies in the US, Canada, Australia and India. Within the UK
BOOK RETAILER OF THE YEAR
OVERVIEW In a hugely challenging year for retail, these varied businesses—a high street bookseller, an internet retailer, a mixed multiple and a couple of supermarkets—showed there were still plenty of good ways to get books into the hands of readers. After keeping supply chains and sales moving amid so much turmoil, all will be hoping for a much smoother 2021.
A GREAT READ Family-owned online bookseller A Great Read is shortlisted at the awards for the first time. Established in 2007, it found itself in greater demand than ever in 2020 as bookshops closed and people went online to buy. Sales through its retail website more than doubled—though other platforms like Amazon and eBay remain a larger source of revenue—and it adjusted to Covid restrictions to preserve fulfilment. For customers, the brand stands out for its service and promotions, while publishers like its firm sale policy and bulk buying.
BLACKWELL’S After 140 years of selling books on high streets and university campuses, the pandemic saw Blackwell’s ramp up its digital arm. It trebled its sales through
Blackwells.co.uk, and coped well with pressure on its supply chain and service. It played its part in local communities, reach- ing out to isolated customers and acting as a key conduit for care books and training material for the NHS, and turned closed shops into “dark stores” where teams could pick orders. Events moved online, includ- ing a Twitter-based Virtual Festival.
TESCO While some of the UK’s biggest retailers paused book supply during lockdowns, Tesco kept the deliveries flowing into its stores. In a sign of how seriously it takes the category now, big new releases got some highly visible front-of-store space in 2020. Promotions like a two-for-£9 on paperbacks and a discount offer through the Daily Mail have helped to make Tesco a destination for regular book buyers as well as impulse purchasers, and the retailer is an increasingly powerful advocate for World Book Day.
W H SMITH HIGH STREET W H Smith Travel has won this award twice in the past five years, but this year its High Street business takes its turn in the spotlight. While trading was limited, it carved out a good share of sales of its own Book of the Year, Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. The chain celebrated the 10th birthday of its Richard & Judy Book Club with retrospective promotions and a spin-off Search for a Bestseller competition, as well as mark- ing 15 years of supporting the National Literacy Trust.
ON THE NIGHT
THE WINNER OF THE INDEPENDENT BOOKSHOP OF THE YEAR AND NIBBIES WILL ALSO BE INCLUDED IN THIS SHORTLIST. TO SEE WHO IS IN THE RUNNING FOR THOSE AWARDS, SEE PAGES 23 AND 25 RESPECTIVELY.
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SAINSBURY’S With high street bookshops shut for several months, the door was open for supermarkets like Sainsbury’s to gain market share in 2020. It used prominent in-store displays to get a good slice of blockbuster releases such as Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, and sharpened up its buying and merchandising strate- gies in the cookery and lifestyle sectors in particular. Like most retailers, it grew online sales sharply, in this case via its sister Argos business, and it successfully moved its Children’s Book Awards online.
WHITE HOUSE MEMOIR SOLD SOLIDLY FOR SUPERMARKET SAINSBURYS
BARACK OBAMAS
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