Sutcliffe's role made redundant as three depart Foyles

Jasper Sutcliffe, head of buying at Foyles, is departing the retailer today (Friday 17th July) after over 20 years with Foyles, after his role was made redundant.

Abel Dos Santos, gifts and stationery buyer, and area manager Patrizia Sorrentino, who looked after all Foyles shops aside from the Charing Cross Road branch, have also had their roles made redundant and are leaving the company.

The development follows the integration of Foyles with owner Waterstones' buying practices last October, which saw three category buyer roles made redundant but Sutcliffe staying in post. At the time Waterstones said the new system would see initial new title buying done centrally but with "a bespoke layer of ordering placed on top of this by the Foyles team".

Sutcliffe (pictured) told The Bookseller: "The joy of Foyles is picking things others wouldn't, backing books from the margins and bringing them to the fore. We have prided ourselves in trying to increase the diversity of books put in front of customers. It's been great to see authors of colour finally get some recognition in this age of Covid.

"My wish for the company I've been with for 21 years is for it to be able to maintain that sense of adventure and discovery but there will undoubtedly be challenges. Waterstones do a fantastic job and I've had a great time working with all the team there."

A Waterstones spokesperson said: "It is with regret that we confirm that a small number of roles at Foyles have been made redundant. This was not an easy decision and we would like to thank all those affected for all their hard work. Foyles will retain its unique identity in the same way Hatchards and Hodges Figgis have retained theirs, through good bookselling and catering to each shop's customer base. The central books team will be on hand to support bookshop managers and booksellers to achieve this, whilst bespoke replenishment and range work for Foyles will continue to be done at a local level."

Foyles campaign manager Heather Baker, and Gavin Read and Gary Powell, who together look after the Foyles website, remain in post.

Sutcliffe, Dos Santos and Sorrentino can be contacted at jasper.sutcliffe@gmail.com, abel@allthingsanalogue.co.uk and patrizialilaya@hotmail.com respectively.