Blue Yonder and Blackwell's buy hit Waterstones profits in year to April 2023

Waterstones saw profits after tax fall to £12m in the period from 1st May 2022 to 30th April 2023 from £42.1m the previous year, despite sales rising to £452.5m from £399.8m the year before. 

Waterstones told The Bookseller, ahead of full figures being filed on Companies House, that the dip in profits is in part due to the implementation of the Blue Yonder system, and the impact this has had on stock availability and operating costs, as well as Waterstones’ acquisition of Blackwell’s in August 2022. The retailer had faced issues with the Blue Yonder software when it first launched in August 2022, which took months to resolve owing to a backlog of orders from bookshops. 

In July 2023, chief operating officer Kate Skipper told The Bookseller that Waterstones had moved to the hub successfully for all Blackwell’s stores, and that it aimed to carry out the last "developmental sprints" in the autumn to avoid disruption during the 2023 Christmas season. 

The group had a “good” Christmas season in 2023, with high online sales and stock holding up. “There was a good spread of publishing, with a number of standout bestsellers created by our booksellers,” a spokesperson said, “led by the notable success of Impossible Creatures [Bloomsbury] and Murdle [Souvenir Press]".

The book retailer continued its investment in new shops in 2023, opening stores in locations such as Blackburn and Petersfield, after opening 13 locations in 2022. 

“It is testament to the underlying strength of the companies, and the resilience and commitment of our teams, that the subsequent recovery of the business has been so strong, as demonstrated by the performance throughout the second half of 2023 and into 2024,” the spokesperson said of the results. 

"We will build on this growth throughout 2024, as we continue to invest in our teams, our infrastructure and our shops, both within the existing estate and with further new bookshops in the pipeline."