Wenlock Books, an award-winning independent bookshop that has served readers in the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock since 1991, is being forced to close, with the owner placing the blame squarely on the rise of Amazon.
Anna Dreda, who won independent bookseller of the year in 2006 and founded the Wenlock poetry festival, said the decision to close had been “very, very difficult” because she has “just adored being here in the high street in my beautiful shop making wonderful connections with my customers”. But a combination of serious illness, an increasingly quiet high street and customers’ preference for online shopping are forcing her to close her doors by the end of June. Dreda has worked at the shop since 1991, and took over from the previous owner in 2003. A review of the shop in the Guardian in 2005 called it “nothing short of a gem”.
Dreda said: “I never came into bookselling thinking I’d make a lot of money [but] the high street has got quieter and quieter and I suddenly realised I just can’t afford to do this any more. Amazon has been the biggest thing. The number of times people come and look at the book on the shelves and say, ‘I’ll order that on Amazon.’ I’ve heard that over and over again. I have lost so many customers who used to be my bread and butter and I don’t believe people have stopped reading, I just believe they’re buying online and that’s the way it’s gone. And I think that’s the way the high street as a whole has gone.”
In a letter to customers announcing the closure, she said that “trading conditions are such that I have been running at a loss for some time now and I’m afraid I’m unable to find the energy, stamina or financial resources to turn things around, especially as our high street is so quiet”.
Despite the fact that independent bookseller numbers have now risen for two years in a row, Dreda is not the only indie feeling the pinch: Camden Lock Books will close in July after 18 years in Old Street, London. Owner Jason Burley said there had been a “gathering of different factors” behind his decision, from major works at Old Street roundabout to business rates and rent rises, along with “flatlining” custom. “It’s not a terribly profitable business, to be honest,” said Burley. “There’s been endless upset from customers [at the news]. One was in tears when I told her. It is such a shame.”
Booksellers Association managing director Meryl Halls said the organisation was always upset when bookshops closed, “but this week seems unduly cruel, with news of two iconic bookshops, and two long-serving bookselling pros leaving the trade.
“It shines a light on the relentless pressures on high street bookshops and the challenges in building and maintaining a viable bookselling business,” said Halls, adding that the BA is calling for urgently required reform to a rates system “built for an analogue age and no longer fit for purpose in our digital and omni-channel era”.
“Online competition, provided by tech giants who take full advantage of a broken business taxation system, is just the start,” Halls added.
Dreda says she still remembers the moment when she put her key in the lock, turned it and walked in when she first became the owner of Wenlock Books in 2003. “It was just such a wonderful feeling,” she said. “Now I’m dreading the last time I put the key in the lock and walk away from it.”
