All Waterstones articles
Waterstones is the UK’s last remaining national high street bookseller, with more than 270 stores throughout the country and three in Ireland. The rollout of its own-brand Café W coffeeshop concessions has resulted in increased dwell time and book sales. The bookstore chain also acquired Foyles from its founding family in September 2018, but continues to operate its seven stores under the same name.
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AnalysisRetail 2025: How Molton Brown, Mamas & Papas and N Brown are taking ESG seriously
Retailers are taking heed of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, and in many cases are also realising the commercial benefits that come with focusing on these issues as opposed to solely chasing profit at all costs.
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NewsWaterstones starts new Oxford Street chapter with John Lewis opening
Bookseller Waterstones has opened a branch in John Lewis’ flagship store on London’s Oxford Street.
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Report StoreRetail 2025
Exclusive: 43 retail leaders from 39 businesses reveal their strategies for 2025
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NewsWaterstones is returning to Oxford Street in new partnership with John Lewis
Waterstones has announced its return to London’s Oxford Street in a “significant new partnership” with John Lewis Partnership.
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Retail Navigator AnalysisWaterstones (Overview)
Waterstones announces a new partnership with John Lewis. The specialist will open a site on the second floor of the department store, housing over 20,000 books ranging from children’s to adult fiction and non-fiction.
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NewsWaterstones profits fall as IT issues cause order backlog
Waterstones’ full-year profits declined despite a boost in sales as issues with stock distribution technology caused a backlog of orders.
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AnalysisHow inflation has forced retailers to adapt their loyalty schemes
As inflation has run rampant and customer confidence plummets, retailers have increasingly turned to loyalty schemes to drive sales. Retail Week takes a look at how six retailers have adapted their programmes to appeal to cash-strapped customers
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NewsWaterstones profits soar as post-pandemic shoppers flock to stores
Waterstones recorded an increase in full-year profits as sales soared post-pandemic.
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NewsWaterstones hit by stock shortages after warehouse tech problems
Waterstones is grappling to stock its shops and fulfil a backlog of online orders after problems with its new warehouse tech systems sparked product shortages.
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NewsIceland and Waterstones’ bosses named in Queen’s birthday honours
A number of retail leaders have been recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours list this year.
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NewsRetailers call for business rates cut to help battle cost-of-living crunch
A coalition of leading retailers and trade bodies has launched a ‘Cut the Shops Tax’ campaign, arguing for a business rates reduction to combat inflationary pressures and protect industry jobs.
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NewsWaterstones acquires independent bookseller Blackwell’s
Waterstones has snapped up Blackwell’s, the UK’s largest independent bookseller, for an undisclosed sum.
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AnalysisRetail 2022: 59 CEOs reveal strategy for the year ahead
Leaders from Gymshark, Currys, Pets at Home, Levi’s and Beauty Pie are among 59 chief executives that have spoken to Retail Week in-depth about their 2022 strategy as part of a major new report
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DataRanking: From M&S to Iceland – UK consumers’ favourite brands
Marks & Spencer has been crowned the best retail brand according to shoppers in YouGov’s UK Retail Rankings 2021.
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GalleryStore gallery: TikTok moves offline with experiential shopping centre pop-up
Video sharing platform TikTok has made a huge splash online. Now, with the opening of the UK’s first-ever TikTok pop-up, it could also make a big impact IRL.
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AnalysisHow John Lewis, Waterstones and Lush are making store staff their greatest assets
A new report by Retail Week showcases the businesses empowering their store staff to deliver best-in-class customer service and an experience that can’t be beaten online. Find out how you can do the same
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AnalysisThree ways retailers are rethinking stores for future success
Retail Week’s inaugural Stores Week, celebrating bricks and mortar, kicks off today. From The Entertainer and Dixons Carphone to Theo Paphitis Retail Group and AS Watson, retailers and brands from across the sector will reveal how they’re shaping their store strategies. Here’s a taster of what to expect.
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Retail Navigator AnalysisWaterstones (SWOT)
Waterstones is the UK’s only remaining major book specialist on the high street, with upwards of 300 stores throughout the country. As such, it can sustain a respectable share of the UK physical book market which continues to grow as consumers trade in screens for paper.
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Retail Navigator AnalysisWaterstones (People)
Waterstones is headed up by MD James Daunt and COO Kate Skipper who has been managing UK operations while Daunt was drafted in to turn around sister business Barnes & Noble in the States.
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Retail Navigator AnalysisWaterstones (Financials)
The Waterstones group (filed under Book Retail Midco) includes Foyles and now also Blackwells as well as Waterstones and is yet to file for FY2022. Waterstones’ own sales rose to £452.5m for the 52 weeks ending 29 April 2023 (FY2022), now including the impact of the acquisition of Blackwells. The retailer benefitted from the “increased popularity of both reading and physical bookshops, supported notably by social media and positive press coverage”.