Pocket Shop Birmingham launches with 25% off promotion

Swedish book chain Pocket Shop has opened its first UK store, offering 25% off titles.

The company, owned by Swedish media giant Bonnier, has opened its first UK store in Birmingham Airport, with two more stores in Britain to follow by the end of the year.

Former Waterstones bookshop manager Darren Dodd has been appointed as manager, with over 20 years experience in book retail. Meanwhile, a team of Swedish “bookselling superstars” have come over to Birmingham for the summer to help launch the shop, which is hiring several UK booksellers to staff it.  

The Pocket Shop in Birmingham Airport.

Karin Porshage, Pocket Shop marketing project manager, said: “The customer reactions have been very positive. The customers have expressed their liking of our friendly customer service, wide range of titles, knowledge of books and purple store design.”

The first book purchased was The Loney by Andrew Hurley (John Murray).

Pocket Shop has 26 shops across Sweden, Finland and Germany as well as the UK.

The top 10 display at Pocket Shop.

Last month, Pocket Shop c.e.o. Anna Borné Minberger told The Bookseller the chain was keen to open more stores in the UK over the next year because Britain shown itself to have “recovered” form the digital revolution and was “on the rebound”. She added that she thought UK retail landlords were also keen to “present something new” to the public and liked Pocket Shop’s store concepts.

The chain retailer was founded in 1989 by Mathias Engdahl and bought by Bonnier in 2012, with Minberger succeeding Engdahl as c.e.o. in 2013.