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Supermarket chain Lidl will sell frontlist books for the first time this summer, with titles on offer including the current number one Richard Osman’s The Last Devil to Die (Viking), and recent paperback releases, Lee Child and Andrew Child’s The Secret (Bantam) and Emily Henry’s Happy Place (Viking).
The sale of the books between 20th June and 15th August across 960 stores in the UK marks a trial period, as the supermarket chain has previously only sold backlist titles as part of its “middle aisle” offer. The move—facilitated by Routes to Retail, part of the Frontline Group—will be of interest to commercial book publishers many of whom report falling sales from supermarkets.
Routes to Retail—a sales, marketing and distribution specialist of magazines, newspapers, and home entertainment products (books, film and music) into independent and major UK retailers—entered the books market in June 2023, taking on the end-to-end responsibility for book sales in Morrisons, before also adding Waitrose in February this year.
According to the company, Morrisons has since reported year-on-year growth in the books space in its first year of trade, and is on track to deliver consecutive year on year growth.
The partnership with Lidl marks the first time that retailer has sold newly released books. Paul Sadler, managing director of Routes to Retail, told The Bookseller: “Routes to Retail have been working successfully with Lidl for a number of years and are delighted to be supporting their 960 store base with new frontlist books for the first time.
“At Routes to Retail we are passionate about developing sales and opportunities for all the products we manage and this is a perfect example of that."
The Bookseller has reached out to Lidl for comment.