Twenty years of Books
By Tom Chalmers
Stoke Newington, while part of the sprawling mass of London, seems to take great pride in maintaining its own identity and sense of community. One example of this independence is illustrated by the Stoke Newington Bookshop on the High Street.
This summer sees the 20th anniversary of the popular bookshop and, during recent years, when stories have been rife about the demise of independent bookshops, previously seen as an institution on every high street and in every local area, the shop has continued to prosper, having been awarded London’s Best Independent Bookshop in 2006 and having received LBC awards in 2004 and 2006. So, having a vested interest as a local-based publisher, I went in to have a chat with owner Jo.
What I hadn’t realised was that the bookshop was originally based where the discount shop is now, three doors down, and was run from there for the first 11 years. With the chains rumoured to be hunting down successful independents at the time, the decision was taken to move to the bigger shop and all the books were packed up and carried those few metres down the street. The bargain shop still runs successfully, and Jo now also owns a bargain shop in Walthamstow.
So, how has the area changed over the 20 years? Well, not as much as you might think, apparently. While people often focus on the development of Church Street and the influx of the ‘fashionable professionals’, from a High Street perspective there has been remarkable consistency with Jo pointing to the same businesses being based around the shop from the outset. She also reports great consistency in custom and the type of books on sale.
While trends come and go – the fashion for sexual politics books in the 1980s, for instance, compared to today’s popularity of self-help and new-age reading – the generally more popular books have continued as they have everywhere else – with fiction and children’s remaining the top sellers (children’s in particular developing and thriving in recent years). I get the impression that Stoke Newington would like to think of itself as having a slightly more literary leaning than other London areas and, while this may be partly true, Jo highlights that she wanted to set up a bookshop that had everything on offer, while maintaining responsible bookselling with the wide range of customer age in mind. She didn’t want to be viewed as a typical bookseller, particularly with Stoke Newington not being a necessarily typical area, certainly with its keen sense of local history.
I have often been frustrated with independent booksellers, as on paper they should be natural allies with us independent publishers, but in reality that isn’t often the case and in truth that is probably down to shortfalls on both sides – luckily, moves seem to be happening to try to change this and hopefully this will lead to stronger links. However, one area that has never been disputed is the importance of personal service, and this potential is something the independent bookshops must use to full effect – the one aspect with which the threatening shadow of mammoth-sized Amazon and chain discounts can’t compete.
This is clearly evident at the bookshop, for instance, with the 24-hour ordering service, even if the title takes several hours to find. This is also illustrated by the staff, who love to be asked to recommend books, and Jo points to the importance of strong team spirit. The shop has a comparatively low staff turnover and, in fact, while I’m there an ex-employee drops by to visit with her new baby. When employing new staff, Jo specifically looks to how they will fit in with the team and what they will be like to have around.
So, what has been the secret behind the bookshop’s success? She quickly points to customer loyalty, something that is apparently particularly strong among the their customer base, with some customers having been regulars for the full 20 years. Having reached this landmark, Jo wants to thanks all the customers for their support, which has been absolutely vital for the business throughout the years,
So, what next? Well, firstly, there are some commemorative canvas bags due to be unveiled shortly as well as summer sales promotions. And another 20 years? Jo quickly points out that she sincerely hopes the shop is still going in 20 years but that she also sincerely hopes she still isn’t there running it. My target is to make one of our titles a bestseller at the shop by then. Luckily, there’s a bit of time in which to do it. |
