Today I learnt that Waterstone's is ending it's 10 year old 3-for-2 promotion.
James Daunt, Waterstone's MD since June this year, is axing Waterstone's famous (and profitable) 3-for-2 offer. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph he calls the promotion "daft". Why? Daunt disagrees in principle with the idea that books are selected for 3-for-2 promotion on a financial basis, he doesn't believe price should be the number one factor when choosing a book to buy, he believes it demotivates staff and causes customers to lose "the ability to focus on a particular book".
The article suggests that the task of saving the high street bookshop falls soley on Daunt's shoulders. He admits the tactic may cause Waterstone's sales to fall, but only at first. What he is aiming for is "much nicer bookshops for the consumer to buy books in. They will come back more often and, ultimately, sales will go up". Hope so.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8802588/Waterstones-starts-a-new-chapter-in-bookselling-under-James-Daunt.html
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