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The rich and the poor: “Two nations between whom there is no intercourse and...

…who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets.” The quote, of course, is Disraeli’s, and it was...

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The pbook tail: an ursine stump. The ebook tail: very long, very thin. And...

Some Twittering this morning, inspired by a couple of articles spotted by Jellybooks‘ Andrew Rhomberg.  One is a market report from Publishing News, the other a blog entry distributed by ebookporn....

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Films, food and fiction

Format change in action – a couple of examples from history: 1.  Movies and TV:  in the late 40s/early 50s, movie companies fought broadcasters to protect their industry against the upstart television....

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Relay race

Cannon Street Station is a National Rail terminus in the City of London, bringing commuters into the financial district from south-east London and Kent via London Bridge.  It’s busy for an hour or two...

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Physical retail: it’s still all about service, and it always will be…

I’ve written a blog piece for Retailer Solutions, reflecting on some timeless truths around customer service.  You can read it here. I’ve been working in retailing for many years, and throughout the...

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Booksellers and publishers working together: The BA Conference

I spent Monday with the Booksellers Association Conference at the University of Warwick, and wrote up my immediate reactions in this piece, published by The Bookseller. I do believe that there is a...

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How’s the retail shake-out working for you?

Some smiling faces in the retail community this morning, with news that like-for-like sales in September lifted by 1.5%, easily the best result of the year.  Why the bounce?  There will have been some...

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Swann Song: Changes at WH Smith

The Bookseller has published a column I’ve written in response to WH Smith’s prelims announcement last week, which delivered the double whammy of £100m+ profits, and the upcoming departure of Kate...

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All Quiet on the Front of Store Front

It has been, hasn’t it? At a time of massive publishing mergers, Amazon’s forced disclosure of their UK sales, and a continued reshaping of the retail landscape, you’d think I’d have quite a lot to...

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It’s Calliope!

It’s Calliope? What’s Calliope? Well, plenty of things, actually. Calliope was the Muse of Epic Poetry, back when the Greek Gods ran the world. Since then, the name has been applied to (amongst other...

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