Waterstones 'To Return To Stock Holding Roots'

In my darker moments I wonder if this is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Tim can do it. Tim can do it. Tim can do it.













Maybe.

HMV appears to be trying to get out of the content business, now that that has moved largely online - they can't compete with Amazon on range or price (or indeed with downloads, legal and otherwise.) It seems they're trying to switch a lot of their space in stores to gadgets like iPods and iPod accessories.

HMV was shut down in the US several years ago. They were pulled out of their store locations in a huge rush with little warning. Lots of people put out of work, and localities with few or no options, since the big store had already pushed out the older indies. Now there are no HMVs here. Yay, corporate decision-making.

Problem I find is the Waterstones I've been in completely lack books. Every single one I've been in (where I live and central London) has had a YA section to laugh at. Two tiny shelves. Hardly anything there.

Kind of sad, really....

Becca_H said:

Problem I find is the Waterstones I've been in completely lack books. Every single one I've been in (where I live and central London) has had a YA section to laugh at. Two tiny shelves. Hardly anything there.

Kind of sad, really....

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Ah, but simultaneously:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/waterstones-rolling-out-new-teen-sections-next-month.html

Ah, but simultaneously:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/wa...ext-month.html

Click to expand...

Ohh...interesting.

They do need to do something about the YA section. Two shelves (one exclusively paranormal) and everything else is shoved in together, and badly mixed. You can have a boys' MG fantasy next to a YA romance. It's like they have no idea how to shelve things.

Whereas B&N in the US (the ones I've been to, anyway): much bigger, properly organised. Authors with similar fan bases stored side-by-side.

Torgo said:

Ah, but simultaneously:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/waterstones-rolling-out-new-teen-sections-next-month.html

Click to expand...

Manchester Deansgate must've been one of the four pilot sites. Yay, Manchester!

gothicangel said:

I predict that once Waterstones is sold, HMV will disappear from the highstreet within 12 months.

Click to expand...

It's amazing that HMV has lasted this long. Of all the old record chains, I would have given them the least chance of survival. They were always overpriced and poorly stocked.

I miss HMV

I miss Andys. And Robins, which had the coolest record bags in Norwich.