Partner Article

Book boss leaves after disappointing Christmas

HMV Group today branded Waterstone’s Christmas performance “unsatisfactory” as it announced the departure of the book chain’s boss.

Waterstone’s saw its like-for-like sales slump 8.5% in the five weeks to January 2, as it suffered from the weakness in the high street book market and the collapse of Borders, which finished its closing down sales on Christmas Eve.

HMV today said it had appointed Dominic Myers as managing director of Waterstone’s, replacing Gerry Johnson who will also leave the group’s board.

Meanwhile, the HMV chain enjoyed record trading in the period in the UK and Ireland, helped by its improved position after the disappearance of rival Zavvi from the market and the addition of temporary Christmas stores.

HMV group chief executive Simon Fox said the appointment of Mr Myers at Waterstone’s would herald a period of change for the high street bookseller.

The new strategy will include tailoring its offer to local markets and growing the chain’s online presence.

He said the firm would seek to build on its position as the “only remaining specialist bookseller in the high street” and should be looking to grow its market share as HMV had done after the collapse of its rivals.

An extra headache for Waterstone’s recently came from usually lucrative non-fiction big name autobiographies, which “underperformed” over the Christmas period.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .