This report examines the current state of UK bookselling. The UK book market is one of the largest in Europe and it is growing faster than that of Germany or France. However, there are difficulties in the UK market. Bookselling has become fiercely competitive, and the well-known retail chains that once seemed almost impervious to any other kind of competition are facing a challenge from the supermarkets and from online book buying. Independent booksellers are also finding the current book climate hard.
However, there are still a wide variety of booksellers ranging from the small independent booksellers and local newsagents to the large retail chains and the supermarkets.
It is estimated that the value of the retail book market in 2005 was £4.11bn, which represents an increase of 3.5% on the previous year. Reports in summer 2005 that the market was growing at 6% refer more to volume than to value; it is clear that the market is growing much faster in terms of the volume of books sold than by value. More than two-thirds of the market is accounted for by consumer sales. The remainder comprises academic and professional books, and school books.
The industry's major booksellers include: WH Smith, Waterstone's, Amazon.co.uk. Borders, Ottakar's and Book Club Associates. Amazon.co.uk is growing the fastest of all these. Supermarkets are also selling books, but none of them occupy a dominant position in the market as a whole.
Book buying is strongest among those who are classed as being in the A and B social grades. This is a weakness as well as a strength. On the one hand it means that the publishers and the booksellers have a clear idea of who some of their most significant customers are, but on the other hand it means that the customer base for books is not broad enough. The market is also influenced by those who buy many books a year, the so-called `heavy book' buyers. Heavy book buyers are those who buy ten or more books a year.
A major issue concerning the bookselling community is price competition and narrowing profit margins. At the time this report was published (March 2006), it was clear that Waterstone's did not have a good year in 2005 and, for Ottakar's, the year was disappointing. Waterstone's owner HMV has put in a bid to buy Ottakar's, which most people in the book trade are opposed to. The bid has been put before the Competition Commission, which will give its view in May or June 2006.
It is estimated that the value of retail book sales will rise by 15.3% between the end of 2006 and the end of 2010. Bookselling space is likely to increase, with retailers such as Borders opening new stores, but the number of independents seems set to fall.
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