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James Daunt, the boss of both Barnes & Noble in the US and Waterstones in the UK, plans to open a number of bookstores this year with an eye on a flotation that could include London or New York in the future.
Daunt said there will be about 60 stores added to Barnes & Noble in the US, which already has about 1,000 stores across the country. The British-born bookseller was targeting the opening of 57 stores in the US and 12 in the UK by 2024 – what it called a “really significant expansion” – with plans to “do that or more by 2025”.
Water stones it was sold to Elliott, a private equity group, in 2018 by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut, and to Barnes & Noble, an American conglomerate, acquired by the same investment management firm in 2019.
Daunt still owns his own independent UK book chain.
He has run Waterstones since 2011, and has seen the challenge posed by Amazon, which sells books both direct to consumers and through its Kindle. Other enemies such as Foyles, Hatchards and Blackwell are also present bought by Waterstonesmaking Elliott's combined holdings the largest bookstore on both sides of the Atlantic.
Daunt said it would be “sensible” to look at the first public offering of future mergers, although any decision will depend on Elliott's strategy. A person close to the fund manager said there are no plans yet to list the shares but it would be one of the options in the future.
Currently, Daunt said he was focused on consolidating IT and financial systems at Barnes & Noble and Waterstones into one platform.
Daunt predicted another successful holiday season for the bookseller, boosted by the final trading weekend before Christmas Day.
The holiday season worked well for last-minute shoppers, Daunt said, because of the expectation that many would wait until the weekend before Christmas to get their gifts.
“If you're in the 'last minute' game – and we are at some point – then (. . .) it was a solid Christmas that came late because of the fall in the calendar,” he said. “The last weekend and (December) 23-24 was special on both sides of the Atlantic. It's been a good thing since Christmas. “
He said there was no top-selling category this year, with sales across all categories. Booksellers usually see a downturn after the January sales season, but Daunt said a new book from popular author Rebecca Yarros at the end of the month was expected to drive business.
Daunt said the increase in premiums is “really important” for the business, but they support the UK government's move to increase the cost of national insurance, which is opposed by many executives in the retail and consumer sectors.
Instead, he said that the most important issue for Waterstones in the UK is Brexit: “It is always the biggest pain, it adds to the costs and difficulties, and it makes our labor situation worse.”