The Bookseller.com

24th July 2008

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Johnson bullish about Christmas

15.05.08 Graeme Neill

Waterstone's m.d. Gerry Johnson was bullish about the year ahead as he hailed a "very strong" publishing list for the Christmas trading period.

Johnson was speaking following Waterstone's announcement last Friday of a growth in like-for-like sales of 6.6% for the 16 weeks to 28th April. "We have definitely stopped the decline, and we are now growing," he said, adding that a "very strong performance" from books was at the "heart of this growth". He said: "I think the whole base of our strategic programme is coming through and we are seeing very good results. We are very pleased."

Johnson said Waterstone's had yet to meet every publisher about their Christmas lists, but the ones they had seen were "very encouraging. Last year was a strong list, and this year publishers seem to be delivering a very strong list. The big titles matter, but a lot of what we are doing is driving midlist and backlist sales."

He declined to comment on speculation that the retailer is preparing to stock the Sony Reader. Publishers expect Waterstone's to sell the e-book reader in stores from September, retailing at around £200. "The market is a very young one at the moment," he said. "What we have to do is better understand what consumers want and how we can progress. It's more than a piece of hardware; it's the whole package."

The results received a favourable response from publishers and the City. Charlotte Robertson, group sales and marketing director at Simon & Schuster, said Waterstone's had a "really good strategy at the minute". "Their website is doing really well and we are really enthused," she said. "The team working on it is geared up and excited, and I think the wider business is going in the right direction."

Retail analyst Nick Bubb at Pali International said Waterstone's figures reflected a "strong book market". He said 0.7% of the 6.6% like-for-like growth was from Waterstone's online business, and a further 1.2% came from closing underperforming stores. "It's still a good figure [taking away the one-off benefits]," he said. "The management is still confident about growth and improving margin."

However, Bubb warned that a hot summer could hit sales, as shoppers may decide to stay away from the high street. "You need to credit the management, but it won't be as easy for them this year," he said.

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