High Rents Are Bookshops' Foe ; Readers' Views

Summary

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DAVID Sexton points to the net increase in independent bookshop openings last year as a sign of possible renaissance, yet how many of the 72 bookshop closures he mentions were shops that had been trading for more than a decade? Such establishments build up a fund of expertise and become the hub of their local communities. New shops cannot make up for the loss communities feel when existing ones close.

I work in a bookshop that has been operating for 40 years, now closing at the end of this month. Shops such as this aren't killed off by competition from the internet or the retail chains a combination of rent increases and an environment in which it is more profitable to own an empty shop than have a sitting, trading tenant helps drive these establishments to the wall. I fear it won't be long before greedy landlords finish off Britain's long-established independent bookshops except as tourist attractions in pretty places.

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High Rents Are Bookshops' Foe ; Readers' Views

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