The Book People
Encyclopedia
The Book People is an independent British-based direct bookseller that reaches customers through a network of distributors, ecommerce websites and mail order catalogues. The company was established in 1988 by Ted Smart and Seni Glaister in Godalming
, Surrey and now also has offices in Haydock
, Merseyside and a warehouse and customer services centre in Bangor
, North Wales. Since its formation, the Book People has acquired numerous other brands in the book sales industry, such as Red House, Puffin Book Club and Index Books, as well as managing book offers for national newspapers and providing third-party fulfilment for other branded websites.
Having initially operated solely from a base in Godalming
, which since 1997 has been at Catteshall Manor, the company expanded, opening offices in Haydock
in 1996 and later a customer service centre and warehouse in Bangor
in 2002. As on 31st December 2009, the company employed 612 staff.
As part of their growth, the Book People acquired numerous brands, including Red House, Index Books, Puffin Book Club, Puffin Post and School Link. They also host the online bookshops for Channel 4
’s TV Book Club and CITV
’s Bookaboo
.
Retail Awards. Founder Ted Smart was also honoured with The Random House
Group Award for Outstanding Contribution to Bookselling.
Upon opening the new warehouse and customer service centre in Bangor
in 2002, the Book People was praised for creating 180 new jobs, as well as 250 temporary/seasonal roles in North West Wales and received a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government
to help fund the state-of-the-art facility.
s. Therefore the limited range stocked by The Book People are purchased at prices below the competition). The company is highly skilled in rotating stock through its distributors, website and catalogues. At the end of their life, remaining stock is disposed of through its sister website, www.bananas.co.uk.
, annual sales in the year ended 31st December 2009 were £92,338,393, down from £97,923,424 in 2008. Profit before tax, however, rose to £613,387 from a prior year loss of £1,869,951.
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
, Surrey and now also has offices in Haydock
Haydock
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It contains all of the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook electoral ward. The village is located roughly mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester, close to the junction of the M6 motorway...
, Merseyside and a warehouse and customer services centre in Bangor
Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
, North Wales. Since its formation, the Book People has acquired numerous other brands in the book sales industry, such as Red House, Puffin Book Club and Index Books, as well as managing book offers for national newspapers and providing third-party fulfilment for other branded websites.
History
The Book People was founded in 1988 by Chairman Ted Smart and CEO Seni Glaister. The company was established as a direct bookseller, relying on self-employed distributors to visit potential customers in their workplaces and meeting places. The Book People has since grown to become an award-winning bookseller, bringing discount books to people across the U.K. and Republic of Ireland through a network of distributors, mail order catalogues and an online ecommerce website.Having initially operated solely from a base in Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
, which since 1997 has been at Catteshall Manor, the company expanded, opening offices in Haydock
Haydock
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It contains all of the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook electoral ward. The village is located roughly mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester, close to the junction of the M6 motorway...
in 1996 and later a customer service centre and warehouse in Bangor
Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
in 2002. As on 31st December 2009, the company employed 612 staff.
As part of their growth, the Book People acquired numerous brands, including Red House, Index Books, Puffin Book Club, Puffin Post and School Link. They also host the online bookshops for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
’s TV Book Club and CITV
CITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
’s Bookaboo
Bookaboo
Bookaboo is a British children's television series for young children created and produced by Lucy Goodman of Happy Films, co-directed by Lucy with Ian Emes and commissioned by Emma Tennant for CITV. The 26 episode show features puppets, celebrities, picture books, songs and animation...
.
Awards/Initiatives
In 2007, the Book People’s contribution to bookselling was recognised as they won the Direct to Consumer Bookselling Company of the Year Award at the BooksellerThe Bookseller
The Bookseller is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Neill Denny is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine, while Philip Jones is deputy editor, having recently been promoted from the position of managing editor of the Bookseller.com...
Retail Awards. Founder Ted Smart was also honoured with The Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
Group Award for Outstanding Contribution to Bookselling.
Upon opening the new warehouse and customer service centre in Bangor
Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
in 2002, the Book People was praised for creating 180 new jobs, as well as 250 temporary/seasonal roles in North West Wales and received a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...
to help fund the state-of-the-art facility.
Business Model
The Book People order and stock a restricted range of titles in bulk, forgoing the right of return. (The UK Book Market operates generally on a "sale or return" model i.e. a book seller may return unsold books to the publisher subject to limited return conditions. Publishers are willing to sell books very cheaply if they are not committed accepting unsold books, reducing the risk of a book proving not to be popular. This reduces the publishers stock of Remaindered bookRemaindered book
Remaindered books are books that are no longer selling well and whose remaining unsold copies are being liquidated by the publisher at greatly reduced prices...
s. Therefore the limited range stocked by The Book People are purchased at prices below the competition). The company is highly skilled in rotating stock through its distributors, website and catalogues. At the end of their life, remaining stock is disposed of through its sister website, www.bananas.co.uk.
Performance
According to The Book People Group Limited Annual Report, lodged at Companies HouseCompanies House
Companies House is the United Kingdom Registrar of Companies and is an Executive Agency of the United Kingdom Government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills . All forms of companies are incorporated and registered with Companies House and file specific details as required by the...
, annual sales in the year ended 31st December 2009 were £92,338,393, down from £97,923,424 in 2008. Profit before tax, however, rose to £613,387 from a prior year loss of £1,869,951.