Waterstone's boss in plea to Government for bookstores to reopen for Christmas

Waterstone's has lost 80% of its sales due to Covid shutdowns.

The year has been “a screaming nightmare" for booksellers from the fallout from Covid, Waterstone's boss James Daunt has said, as he urged the Government here to let the stores fully reopen soon.  

Waterstone's owns about 280 bookstores in Britain, and also runs Hodges Figgis in Dublin, as well as its stores in Belfast, Cork, and Drogheda. Mr Daunt said it was essential for stores to reopen for Christmas. "We make all our money in December so if we don’t re-open, we will have a wash-out year. The importance of re-opening cannot be overstated,” he said in an interview.