November 14, 2013

Blackwell’s bringing pop-up shops to British cities for Christmas

by

We’re getting close to the holiday season—which seems to begin earlier with each passing year—so brace yourself for the barrage of incessant caroling, ubiquitous snowmen, and the horrifying, oppressive crowds. But if you start to get that nagging Grinch-y feeling, take heart! British bookstore Blackwell’s has something to feel genuinely cheerful about—extra bookstores for the holidays.

Lisa Campbell writes for the Bookseller that the academic bookstore chain plans to open six pop-up shops in cities around the UK, as well as a new permanent location at Bradford University. The Bradford store is located on the university campus, and will fill the gap left by a nearby Waterstones that used to serve the school before shutting its doors. Blackwell’s head of sales, Scott Hamilton, enthused, “We have a fantastic site right in the student hub.”

Hamilton further explained the effort to reach more book buyers in the run-up to the holiday season: “We have looked to open in sites associated with book lovers. All the temporary shops will be located in successful consumer shopping areas which people know well.”

In addition to Bradford, Blackwell’s will soon open a pop-up at Camden Market in London, a flea market-style area of shops. They already have temporary locations established in Bristol and Bath, with plans to set up shop in log cabin-style stalls at Christmas markets in Leeds, Manchester, and Edinburgh, sometime in the next few weeks.

 

Nick Davies is a publicist at Melville House.

MobyLives