More new independent bookshops opened in the UK and Ireland in 2023 than in the prior year but an increase in closures meant the overall number fell for the first time since 2016.
The Booksellers Association said that 51 independent bookshops opened last year, up from 49 in 2022.
Its latest annual survey reveals the number of independent bookshops in its membership at the end of 2023 was 1,063, down from 1,072 in 2022 but still significantly up from the record low of 867 in 2016.
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The Wedale Bookshop in the Scottish Borders and The Wee Bookshop in Clackmannanshire were among openings last year cited by the Booksellers Association.
Meryl Halls, managing director of the Booksellers Association, said: “We are sad, but not surprised, to see the numbers of indie bookshops drop this year, for the first time in several years. It’s been a volatile year for openings and closures, with some shops coming to the end of leases, some having opened during Covid and not thrived. Other closures are caused by retirement, rent or rate increases - and in such a low-margin business as bookselling, small shifts in the costs of running the business can have catastrophic effects on viability.”
The Booksellers Association represents more than 95% of booksellers in the UK and Ireland.
Its membership includes chains such as WH Smith, Waterstones, Blackwell’s and Foyles, and Irish players Eason and Dubray.
The Booksellers Association signalled the fall in the number of bookshops was “indicative of ongoing retail pressure”.
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Ms Halls said: “The BA exists to create a positive landscape for bookselling to thrive, and to equip and encourage booksellers to professionalise, learn from each other, share good practice and run excellent community hubs.
“Many hundreds of indie bookshops are doing that every day, across the UK and Ireland, in addition to branches of Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell’s, Eason, Dubray and WHSmith, and we do not want to see any dilution in the unique and exceptional character that a bookshop brings to the high street or town centre.”
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She added: “While the number of bookshops [had] grown gradually since 2016, drawn by the cultural relevance of books, reading and bookshops, and inspired by the activism on display amongst current booksellers, we knew that recession, inflation, labour shortages, massive cost increases, tight margins, the cost of living crisis and unequal tax burdens such as business rates, would take their toll.
“We will continue our advocacy on behalf of bookshops and bookselling, lobbying government on crucial business supports we know are required, and talking in depth to trade and industry partners about how to maximise the number of bookshops on our high streets, and how to support their viability and capacity to extend and expand, which many are already doing.”
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