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Waterstone's growth 'good but surprising'

12.05.08 Graeme Neill

Waterstone’s growth in like-for-like sales of 6.6% for the last 16 weeks of its financial year was a “good and surprising” result, according to a retail analyst.

Nick Bubb from Pali International was speaking after m.d. Gerry Johnson told The Bookseller that the business was now in a growth phase. Bubb said Waterstone’s figures reflected a “strong book market”.

He said 0.7% of the 6.6% like-for-like growth came from Waterstone’s online business, and a further 1.2% came from closing underperforming stores. “It’s still a good figure [taking away the one-off benefits],” he said. “The management is still confident about growth and improving margin.”

However, he warned that a good summer could hit sales. “You need to credit the management but it won’t be as easy for them this year.”

Waterstone’s performance bodes well for its full-year results, which will be released on 1st July. In the 52 weeks ending 26th April, the bookseller said that its like-for-like sales growth was 3.3%, though this includes a period when it closed a number of underperforming shops. Last year it reported a drop in full-year like-for-like sales of 4.1%.

Total sales at Waterstone’s were up 4.7% in the financial year, with sales expected to be around £563m, compared with £537.5m reported last year. Total sales growth in the 16 weeks to 26 April was 3.4%.

At the HMV chain, full-year like-for-like sales grew by 11.4%, with total sales growth of 15.4%.

Retail waterstone's Graeme Neill Home Nick Bubb

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