Waterstones to Open Flagship Store in London in October

Shelf Awareness

photo: The Independent

Waterstones plans to open a flagship, 7,000-square-foot store in London on Tottenham Court Road in October, the Independent reported. The three-story store will be near the new Foyles flagship store, which opened last year next to its longtime location, also on Tottenham Court Road. Waterstones added that it plans to open other stores in London.

"The bookshop is absolutely not dead," Waterstones managing director James Daunt told the Independent. "The pleasure of owning an attractive object and being able to show it off still carries weight. How can you boast that you're reading the new Harper Lee with a Kindle?' "

Tim Godfray, CEO of the Booksellers Association, called Waterstones' news an "encouraging signal out to the book community," particularly after a nine-year period in U.K. book retailing marked by the growth of online printed books and e-books and "the power and dominance of Amazon."