Two Pocket Shops to open in London

Bonnier-owned retail chain Pocket Shop is to open two outlets in London within weeks.

Pocket Shop Hammersmith will open in the Broadway Shopping Centre, at Hammersmith underground station, in the first half of November. A further Pocket Shop will open in an undisclosed central London location, also understood to be close to the London Underground, in December, "if everything goes to plan", project marketing manager Karin Porshage said.  

The Swedish company opened its first UK Pocket Shop in Birmingham this summer.

Porshage told The Bookseller: "We are very happy with our Birmingham gem, we have great staff and are already seeing returning customers and think that this has been a great start on a new market."

Pocket Shop is advertising on its website for bookstore managers for the London shops, saying potential applicants should come "with knowledge of/experience from the book industry" and be "positive, humble, committed and sales oriented."  Porshage said Pocket Shop had had a "huge" number of applicants thus far.

She did not comment on any further Pocket Shop openings planned for 2017.