Waterstones and Blackwell's will close all their physical bookshops on a temporary basis due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus, the Bookseller reported. In a statement, Waterstones said it was closing beginning tomorrow until further notice, "to help prevent spread of the coronavirus, and to protect the wellbeing of our customers and staff." Over the weekend, some staff members had voiced concerns on social media and to the Guardian about the company's previous stance to remain open until the U.K. demanded closure. Foyles, which Waterstones acquired in 2018, is also closing, effective tomorrow. (In an announcement to customers, Foyles said in part, "This isn't the end for us. We've been around for 117 years. We've endured through two world wars, a century of change--not to mention our own bookselling practices. We will be back.")
Managing director James Daunt told the Bookseller: "We've been trying to work out as the days unfold whether there really are some staff who are working who are uncomfortable and unwilling, and we've been very clear throughout that nobody should be working if they find it difficult for whatever reason. There's an indication that some people are coming to work out of duty, and we need to work through this and determine if it's the case.
"We are also recognizing that today a number of other retailers have made a similar decision [to close]--Primark, there's a whole sea of them--and we felt we need to take a time out at the very least. We still do continue to think we are offering an extraordinarily valuable social service, and if the government determines that we are one of the essential services, once we are absolutely certain we can open our shops safely with booksellers who are willing to be there, we will do so. If all shops are obliged to close, we will follow whatever the government determines."
Blackwell's president Toby Blackwell and CEO David Prescott also announced the temporary closure of all Blackwell's and Heffers stores, effective yesterday. "We have kept our bookshops open as long as possible, because we know how important a role they play to you and your local communities," they said. "However, the safety of both our booksellers and customers has to be put first.... Take care of yourselves, your family and those around you during the uncertain times we face in the coming weeks. We look forward to helping you buy books to either banish boredom or to find out more about what's happening. We hope to see you back in our shops as soon as we feel it is safe to re-open."
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The Bookseller's Association unveiled a package of special measures for members. The Bookseller reported that managing director Meryl Halls told members the organization is currently "lobbying the trade and government to 'swiftly' improve the financial and cashflow situation for high street booksellers. The BA group board will waive all 2020 subscriptions for independents and National Book Tokens will improve payment terms to all indie members. The BA Group will also donate £30,000 [about $38,705] to the Book Trade Charity, with the intention that the money is used for hardship grants for booksellers affected by the current crisis."
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Hive.co.uk is doubling commissions to independent booksellers during the outbreak following discussions with the BA about how to support stores, the Bookseller reported. Nigel Wyman, head of business development at Gardners, said: "We are looking at various ways of supporting booksellers during these troubled times and hope that in some way this helps. We will continue to look at other ways of how we can support over the coming days"
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In a newsletter sent to customers, the owner of the Otherwise Bookshop in Rome wrote: "These are strange times for all of us. As Covid-19 sweeps the globe and affects our lives, we are all reminded how precious our health and communities are. While we miss seeing you in the bookshop, we are setting up a book delivery service through the OtherQuestionnaire--a few questions to help us select the books you want, and those you didn’t know you wanted!... On behalf of the whole Otherwise team, thank you for your ongoing support. We sincerely hope that you and all your loved ones are healthy and safe. Stay home, remain hopeful and take care of each other (and keep reading!)"
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Independent bookstore owners and literary groups in Malaysia "will be heavily affected by the two-week movement control order (MCO) that was announced on March 16," the Star reported. "With their businesses temporarily ordered to close, many are worried about an uncertain future, with some resorting to new methods to keep themselves afloat."
Nazir Harith Fadzilah, founder of Tintabudi bookshop in Kuala Lumpur, suggested that some sort of subsidy be imposed to help small business owners with rent and other fixed costs: "I think there's been a slowdown in business ever since the virus was first announced earlier. People were reluctant to go out and sales were affected. I only hope a cure comes for this virus. If the restriction of movement were to be extended, we would have no choice but to just wait for things to subside."
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In New Zealand, Hamish Wright, owner of Paper Plus Cambridge in the Waikato, "hopes elderly people in rest homes will make use of the shop's new delivery service," Stuff reported. While the option is available for any customer, Wright said, "I believe a lot of rest homes are in lockdown so they can't get out to get their magazines, their weekly publications, crosswords and serials, that's really a big part of their lives. We still want them to feel like they're part of the community, that they're not alone. It's really important for us and for them.... We want everyone to remain being part of the community, that's one of the reasons for us to do this.... That's been a big part of the conversation that led on to developing this initiative. It's about saying, you don't need to come and see us, but, yes, we are still there for you."
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Booksellers across Ireland "have reported a huge increase in the number of online orders they've received over the last few weeks as the current global situation forces many people to stay at home," according to Extra.ie, which noted that Dubray Books "said that its web sales were up 120% over the last few days with fiction being the runaway category of choice for many readers."