Two stories from yesterday's PN Online depressed me.

The first was about HMV's 'disappointing results'. The headline affecting the book trade is that Waterstone's like-for-like sales were down 4.1% in spite of all the price promotions, marketing activities, Richard and Judy hype and some brilliant books being published. Apparently, this year has started better and we all want the new team at Waterstone's to succeed. My concern is that the Chairman's statement doesn't seem to address the fundamental need to sell more books at economically viable prices:

 “The strategy has three important strands: protecting our core business, saving costs aggressively and growing in new channels and related products. The environment for entertainment and books retailing will remain highly competitive. However, with aggressive plans, focused leadership and the continued commitment and dedication of our employees, our resilient brands will strengthen their market positions and performance as they comprehensively satisfy the preferences of our customers.”

The second story relates to a much smaller chain, Fopp Music Books + Film who are fighting to avoid bankrupcy and the closure of its 46 stores. Fopp has tried to innovate with very contemporary shops and eclectic purchasing but it doesn't look like it's working.

Add these two stories to the continuing drip drip of independent bookshop closures and the picture for book retailing in the UK does not look pretty. It's a little too easy to blame the lack of retail price maintenance, or competition from supermarkets and the Internet, or the existence of a returns system. It is also simply too easy for bookshops to demand ever higher discounts (or marketing bungs) from publishers. A vibrant high street book trade is vital culturally as well as economically. We must fix it - and fast.