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Foyles wins National Bookseller of the Year at The Bookseller Industry Awards for the second year running

14th May 2013

Foyles has been crowned National Bookseller of the Year for the second year in a row at The Bookseller Industry Awards, announced last night, Monday 13 May.

This is the seventh time that Foyles has been named Bookseller of the Year. With five branches across London and one in Bristol, the chain won the National Bookseller of the Year award last year, and in 2010, and also won Chain Bookselling Company of the Year in 2008 and Independent Bookseller of the Year at ceremonies prior.

Foyles was also commended for its Christmas marketing campaign 'The Foyles Patented Foolproof Gift Acquisition System'. The fully integrated flowchart campaign resulted in sales well above the high street average for book retail, and was praised as an imaginative idea, conceived and executed entirely in house.

The award for National Bookseller of the Year was collected by Sam Husain, Chief Executive of Foyles. He thanked the judges, fellow bookshops, publishing houses and Foyles customers for their support. He also highlighted the hard work of Foyles booksellers across all six Foyles stores and on their website www.foyles.co.uk , and took the opportunity to thank them for their enthusiasm and expertise.

The judges said: "...what Foyles has continued to achieve is inspirational. It's an exciting business doing exciting things. When you think of what a really excellent bookshop should be, you think of Foyles."

Sam Husain said:
"We're very grateful to the judges and to our fellow booksellers on the shortlist, and mostly we thank our phenomenal booksellers, who amaze us daily with their knowledge, passion and simple ability to put the right books into the right hands. We are honoured to be recognised again this year for our efforts, which are mirrored by so many great bookshops up and down the country. We could not have accomplished half of what we do without the support of our publishing partners, whose enthusiasm is vital for a thriving independent sector. And we would like to thank our customers, who we hope we continue to serve in the best way possible. We believe firmly that the role of bricks & mortar booksellers is fundamental in allowing readers to find books, and with our move in 2014 to our new flagship, we are looking forward to finding new ways to do this for many, many years to come. ."

In December 2012 Foyles announced a fourth year of profitable trading for the financial year ending 30th June 2012. The National and Children's Bookseller of the Year 2012 reported pre-tax profits of £152,552, with turnover up to £23,492,891 (£22,848,251 in 2011). Particularly strong sales growth were reported from Foyles at Westfield Stratford City and at Foyles.co.uk

Highlights of the last year included:

- The inaugural Love Charing Cross Road Festival, a celebration of culture at the heart of literary London, resulting in increased footfall to the Charing Cross Road store
- A collaboration with architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands to hold a series of workshops with publishing, retail and technology experts and customers to source ideas for the new flagship store at 107 Charing Cross Road
- The launch of enCounter Culture, which links Foyles' online content to their instore selections and activities, with author interviews, introductions to new writers and recommendations for local events.
- Two pop-up experiments - Foyles at Goldsmiths Row Book Market and Foyles at Central St Martins
- At the end of August 2012, Foyles started selling the NOOK range of ereaders and tablets both in-store and online
- Innovative promotions including a graphic history of Foyles covering the scaffolding at 107-109 Charing Cross Road, a pop-up radio station instore with Fiction Uncovered, and an exclusive short story written for us by Alexander McCall Smith
- A 'Foyles and Curtis Brown Discovery Day' offering people the chance to pitch their book ideas and receive one-to-one feedback from agents about how to get their books published

Foyles have continued to develop partnerships with publishers, authors and organisations to create their truly unique programme of events across the London and Bristol stores. A major highlight this year a partnership with the Comica Festival, the leading graphic novel festival in the UK. Foyles hosted almost the entire Comica Festival, including incredibly rare appearances from Robert and Aline Crumb. Foyles also worked with Comica to create a 3m-high and 30m-wide graphic history of Foyles, created by fourteen of Britain's finest graphic artists, which now covers the tunnel hoardings in front of 107 - 109 Charing Cross Road.

Foyles events programme was as diverse as ever in 2012, with further high profile Time Out events from authors such as Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis and Caitlin Moran, as well as bespoke workshop events, discussions on literary translation, politics and even an exhibition created and curated entirely by Foyles booksellers. Foyles have also held regular Ray's Jazz and classical music performances in The Café and The Gallery at Foyles, Charing Cross Road.

This year, Foyles also announced the first plans around the flagship store move to 107 Charing Cross Road, the former home of Central St Martins College of Art and Design in Spring 2014. The relocated Foyles flagship store will span approximately 37,000 sq feet with nine floor plates across four floors, and a full height central atrium. This custom-fitted bookselling space in the heart of literary London will retain Foyles' unique character, events and exhibition spaces, a café and of course floors of books across its renowned range of subjects and specialities. Foyles' famous literary events programme, plus its increasingly popular jazz and classical performances continue apace in the new store.

Miriam Robinson, Head of Marketing for Foyles and Alex Lifschutz, director of Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, the architects for the Foyles' new flagship store will be discussing their ideas for re-imagining the 21st century bookshop and bookselling at Hay Festival on Saturday 25 May.

Foyles 110th anniversary begins with the launch of enCounter Culture

16 January 2013

Foyles, National Bookseller of the Year 2012, has launched enCounter Culture, linking their revamped online content portal to instore selections and activity. enCounter Culture aggregates all of the ways in which Foyles continues to support the culture of reading and writing, with events, author interviews, blogs, podcasts and more linked directly to titles on the shelves instore. Titles with additional content attached to them will be identifiable instore by their relevant triangular tag and icon, with QR codes directing customers to further content online.

A major feature of enCounter Culture will also be to highlight new writers - not only debut novelists but also new non-fiction writers, authors translated into English for the first time, writers with ground-breaking new ideas, and established writers experimenting with new forms.

A monthly enCounter Culture newsletter and instore promotions will highlight these new writers - January for example features The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis and Alejandro Zambra's Ways of Going Home, the first novel of Zambra's to be published in Britain. The monthly updates will also feature a variety of new happenings instore and online - be they events, promotions, or even a new café around the corner.

Using the knowledge and expertise of Foyles' booksellers, enCounter Culture will feature:

- New Writers and New Writing: debut novelists, new translations, cross-genre writing and new ideas
- Bookcast Series: Foyles' new podcast recordings of live author events
- Authors in their own words: Q&As with authors old and new
- Around Town: Listings of non-Foyles London and Bristol events and openings
- Book Awards: Literary Prize round-ups
- Competitions: Exclusive offers from publishers
- Events and Exhibitions: Listings of Foyles' renowned events programme
- Staff Picks: The latest favourites from Foyles' in-store and online staff
- Bookseller & Guest Blogs

Customers can access enCounter Culture and sign up to the monthly emails at www.foyles.co.uk/encounter-culture

Miriam Robinson, Head of Marketing for Foyles comments:

'enCounter Culture finally allows us to bring together all of the online content we've been working on for years, and deliver it much more effectively online and instore. More importantly though, it allows us to use more of the assets at our disposal to enmesh customers in the world of books, delivering new, fresh experiences effectively and regularly instore and online.'

ENDS

For further press information, please contact
Laura Norton or Chris Baker at Four Colman Getty
laura.norton@fourcolmangetty.com 020 3023 9905 / 07799223749
chris.baker@fourcolmangetty.com 020 3023 9032 / 07872176270

Fourth profitable year for Foyles

14 December 2012

Foyles has announced a fourth year of profitable trading for the financial year ending 30th June 2012.

Awarded National and Children's Bookseller of the Year in 2012, the independent bookshop chain, which has five branches in London and one in Bristol, reported pre-tax profits of £152,552, a decline on the previous year (£204,681 in 2011) with turnover up to £23,492,891 (£22,848,251 in 2011).

Footfall and consequently sales at the flagship Charing Cross Road branch continue to be disrupted by the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station development. The fall in sales has been partially offset by above-budget trading at Foyles' newest shop in Westfield Stratford City, and the chain has continued to enhance its website, which now offers an increased range of new and second-hand books, as well as an improved ebookstore and an ebook app, Foyles powered by txtr. A day-long Charing Cross Road Festival in partnership with Blackwell's and other retailers in June resulted in a significant increase in footfall; similar events are being planned for the future.

Foyles' other London branches have continued to trade satisfactorily. Foyles at Cabot Circus in Bristol is now well-established in the city. This year it launched its first full and well-attended events programme and forged a number of successful partnerships, with, among others, the Bristol Festival of Ideas, Bristol Old Vic and the Bristol Short Story Prize.

Foyles' events programme grew during the year in both size and scope. Dannii Minogue opened Foyles in Westfield Stratford City whilst authors and poets including PD James, Lavinia Greenlaw, Jo Shapcott, Evan Davis, Andrew Feinstein, Alberto Manguel and Jasper Fforde attracted full houses in Charing Cross Road.

The award this year of Children's Bookseller of the Year reflects Foyles' focus on its children's departments in all its stores. Foyles in Westfield White City and Stratford City continue to cater for younger children with alphabet workshops and fairy tale fund days, whilst the Charing Cross Road branch has played host to some of the biggest names in teen fiction, including Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Becca Fitzpatrick.

Foyles' partnership with Time Out Live continued, with a series of external events with audiences of 400+ featuring bestselling writers including Caitlin Moran, Martin Amis, John Irving, Salman Rushdie and Paul Auster.

Foyles' Jazz and Classical events included Scandinavian trumpeter, Tine Thing Helseth, cellist Daniel Muller-Schott and guitarist XueFei Yang. The Gallery at Foyles Charing Cross Road continued to host exhibitions and private hires, resulting in everything from exhibitions from MA programmes in illustration to full workshop days of puppet-making and writing. For the fourth consecutive year, Foyles was the official bookseller for the London Book Fair. It also developed its partnerships with the Royal Society of Literature and the Institut Français, and continued to support the Southbank Centre's literary and music programme.

Sam Husain, Chief Executive of Foyles, comments:

"The retail environment continues to be challenging, a situation exacerbated by the disruption caused by the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station development which, as in previous years, has cost us dearly in lost sales. We will continue to plan events such as the Charing Cross Road Fest which increase footfall significantly.

"Our focus is now turning to the development of our new flagship store at 107-109 Charing Cross Road, the former St Martin's College building, less than a hundred metres down from the existing store on Charing Cross Road. Progress on the development is on schedule for an opening in spring 2014.

"Foyles is well known for the knowledge and expertise of its booksellers and I'd like to thank them for their exemplary service, dedication and hard work."

Commenting on Christmas 2012 sales, Sam Husain adds:

"It's too early to comment on Christmas trading this year but we are hopeful that the last few days leading up to Christmas will be as busy as in the previous year."

Notes to Editors

- Foyles has five branches in London on Charing Cross Road, at the Southbank Centre, at St Pancras International and Westfield White City, Westfield Stratford City and one in Cabot City, Bristol
- www.foyles.co.uk
- Foyles was founded in 1903 by two brothers - William and Gilbert Foyle; the business has been on Charing Cross Road since 1906 and remains in family ownership.

For more information, please contact Four Colman Getty
Chris Baker 020 3023 9032 / 07872 176270 / chris.baker@fourcolmangetty.com
Laura Norton 020 3023 9905 / 07799 223749 / laura.noton@fourcolmangetty.com

Foyles and The Bookseller invite customers and industry experts
to help design a flagship bookshop for the 21st century

3rd December 2012

Foyles, National Bookseller of the Year and Children's Bookseller of the Year 2012, has partnered with The Bookseller to invite customers and industry experts to make literary history, by helping to design a new flagship Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road. An open call for applications to take part in a workshop with architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands was made at The FutureBook conference today, Monday 3 December 2012.

Housed in 113 - 119 Charing Cross Road since 1929, Foyles bookshop is one of the capital's best-known literary landmarks, a mecca for book-lovers of all kinds. In spring 2014, it will move next door to a custom-fitted building at 107 - 109 Charing Cross Road, former home of Central St Martins College of Art and Design. This presents a unique opportunity for Foyles and architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands to design 'the bookshop of the future', with the help of the people who care most about books and reading.

By February 2013 the building's foundations and departments will be fixed - with 40,000 square feet of retail space over three floors. At this stage a workshop will be held, in partnership with The Bookseller, to draw on the knowledge and creativity of industry experts and customers alike. Thirty places will be available by application to any who wish to engage in the exercise. This is the last stage of planning before the design brief is fixed.

At a time when the role of the bricks and mortar bookshop is changing, Foyles and The Bookseller are giving people the opportunity to re-imagine the bookshop for the 21st century. Participants will be asked to engage with issues such as declining physical book sales, the place of eBooks, the cultural importance of bookshops and author events, the specialist knowledge of booksellers, and how bookshops can provide customers with a place to buy books, however they decide to read them. The results of this session will be made public, and those whose ideas are used in the new store will be notified.

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller comments:
'As editor of The Bookseller, I do not believe the bookshop is dead, economically or in any other way. But we do not have to rehash The Booksellers Association's membership numbers to know that high street shops are under severe stress: some of this may be down to the recession, and some of it because of the shift to digital. Either way it needs to be addressed.

While words are our stock-in business, we also need practical solutions to real-world problems: and this is what we'll achieve, in what is essentially a trade-wide initiative to re-invent and re-invigorate the high street bookshop.'

Miriam Robinson, Foyles Head of Marketing comments:
'Discoverability in the digital world is a leading and ongoing challenge, and yet discovery is what bookshops do best, via merchandising, events, bookseller knowledge and enthusiasm. What we are offering with this workshop is a truly unique opportunity, an open platform for creative but constructive play, a chance to create a bookshop where the experiential, cultural strengths of bricks and mortar meet the growing opportunities of digital.'

Those who wish to suggest ideas for Foyles' new flagship store can do so by emailing feedback@foyles.co.uk. They can also register their interest in the half-day workshop to take place in February 2013 by emailing bookshopworkshop@foyles.co.uk. More information about the new premises can be found at http://www.foyles.co.uk/107-109.

Foyles opens pop-up bookshop at Central Saint Martins
Monday 12 November - Monday 17 December
The Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, London, N1C 4AA

12th November 2012

Foyles, National Bookseller of the Year 2012 today, Monday 12 November, opens a pop-up shop at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, King's Cross, London.

Foyles at Central Saint Martins is situated inside the college's main entrance on Granary Square, and leads into the Lethaby Gallery, currently hosting the jewellery exhibition Set, 12 November -14 December. In just five square metres, the shop will stock books relating to exhibitions alongside a carefully curated range of art, fashion and photography titles, as well as relevant texts for student courses. It will also have easy access to the stock holding of Foyles at St Pancras, which is only a five minute walk away

On working with Foyles, Peter Cleak, Events & Gallery Manager at Central Saint Martins said:
"We are delighted to have Foyles on site. We were neighbours for decades, it is a fitting reunion"

Sam Husain, Foyles' CEO comments:
"Central St Martins students have been coming through the doors of Foyles on Charing Cross Road for years and are an integral part of our history. We're pleased that now, in a small way, that can continue."

Foyles at Central Saint Martins will be open Monday-Friday from 10am - 6pm and Saturday 10am-4pm from Monday 12 November until Monday 17 December. It will reopen for the spring term. The shop will be under the management of Foyles' Divisional Manager Susan Sinclair.

The former Central Saint Martins building, 107 - 109 Charing Cross Road, will become the new home of Foyles' flagship bookshop in 2014, following a refurbishment. The hoardings in front of the building currently feature a comic strip telling the history of Foyles, designed by a stellar cast of graphic novel artists taking part in this month's Comica Festival. They include John Miers of Central St Martins college of Art and Design.

Curtis Brown searches for new literary talent at Foyles Discovery Day

19th July 2012

Foyles, National Bookseller of the Year and Children's Bookseller of the Year, are to partner with Curtis Brown literary and talent agency to host a 'Discovery Day'. On Saturday 22 September 2012, Curtis Brown book agents will give aspiring new novelists the chance to pitch their book ideas directly to them for free at Foyles, Charing Cross Road.

The Discovery Day at Foyles marks a rare occasion, with an entire department of Curtis Brown book agents striding out together in search of new literary talent. In an afternoon of one-to-one sessions, they will hear verbal pitches from new novelists and respond to their first pages. They will also offer a 'surgery', answering general questions about writing, agenting and publishing. Following this, Jonny Geller, Curtis Brown's joint CEO and Literary Agent of the Year, will join Sam Humphreys, Publisher at Michael Joseph and acclaimed author Hari Kunzru for a panel event exploring the journey of the book, from pen to publication.

The announcement comes in the same week as the first publishing deal agented by Curtis Brown for a graduate of its creative writing school. A year after the launch of Curtis Brown Creative, Karolina Sutton signed one of its students Tim Glencross, and last week sold his debut novel to Fourth Estate in a hotly contested auction for UK rights, based on a partial manuscript. Tim will be joining the Discovery Day panel to tell his story as a new author.

Curtis Brown Group Limited is London's leading literary talent agency and is the only literary agency to run a creative writing school, Curtis Brown Creative. The agency is well known for its expertise in developing writing careers and for discovering and championing new writers.

Jonny Geller, joint CEO of Curtis Brown and MD of the Book Department comments:

'I can think of no better venue for new writers to pitch their work than the fabulous flagship Foyles store on the Charing Cross Road. Foyles has long been the champion of discovering new fiction and supporting writers through their careers. At Curtis Brown, we are very excited to form this unique partnership with Foyles, and create the first national open day for new writers to pitch their work to top agents. We are all committed to de-mystifying publishing and to clarifying the journey from manuscript to agent to publisher to bookshop.'

Jasper Sutcliffe, Head of Buying at Foyles comments:
'At Foyles we are always keen to introduce readers to new and exciting writers. With Discovery Day, Curtis Brown are extending that ethos brilliantly - giving new writers a unique opportunity to have their voices heard by book trade experts who can help them take their first step toward getting their books in readers' hands.'

Everyone who registers to attend Discovery Day has the chance to win a detailed written reader's report from Curtis Brown, responding to the writer's first three chapters and one page synopsis.

Budding authors must register for the event in advance at www.foyles.co.uk. Places will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis, and separate registration is required for those wishing to attend the panel event. For tips on preparing the first page and pitch, writers should go to www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk

Discovery Day Itinerary:

10.45am-4.30pm: One-to-one feedback sessions and surgery:
Meeting rooms and the Gallery at Foyles
New writers will have the chance to show their opening page and give a verbal overview of their novel-in-progress to a member of the Curtis Brown book department in a one-to-one session (this will be around 6 minutes in duration).
Curtis Brown will read the first page and listen to a 30 second verbal pitch. They will draw on their expertise to provide on-the-spot verbal feedback.

Surgery:
The Café at Foyles
Following their pitch sessions, writers will be shown through to the Café at Foyles where they can join a small group to spend a few minutes asking Curtis Brown agents any questions they may have about writing, publishing and literary agents.

4.00pm: Prize Draw:
The Gallery at Foyles
One registered participant will win a detailed written reader's report from Curtis Brown.

5pm-6pm: Panel Event:
The Gallery at Foyles
A talk plus Q&As will take place in the Gallery, featuring Jonny Geller, joint CEO of Curtis Brown and MD of the Book Department, Sam Humphreys, publisher of Michael Joseph, novelist Hari Kunzru and new author and Curtis Brown Creative graduate Tim Glencross. The panelists will discuss the journey of a book from pen to publication, each of them drawing on their own experiences of writing, pitching, being an agent and publishing to de-mystify the book industry.

Foyles sweeps the board at Bookseller Industry Awards

15th May 2012

For the third time in six years, Foyles has picked up the top prize at The Bookseller Industry Awards. Last night, Monday 14 May, it was named National Bookseller of the Year.

This is the sixth time the independent chain, which currently has five branches in London and one in Bristol, has won a Bookseller of the Year award. Most recently, Foyles won Chain Bookselling Company of the Year in 2008 and then Bookseller of the Year in 2010.

Foyles was also named Children's Bookseller of the Year. The prize, sponsored by Usborne, is in recognition of both commercial flair and a clear demonstration of commitment to and engagement with existing and potential readers.

Manager of Foyles on Charing Cross Road Sion Hamilton received the Children's Bookseller of the Year Award on behalf of Foyles, saying the company had set itself the task of reaching more young readers, and that this award was recognition of what they'd achieved.

Chief Executive, Sam Husain received the Bookseller of the Year Award on behalf of Foyles. He thanked all the booksellers and staff at all six branches for their hard work, as well as their loyal customers, publishers and the authors who lend their support with talks and signings.

Sam Husain said, 'We're honoured to receive these two awards this evening, both of which are testimony to the absolute necessity of passionate booksellers and stronger bookselling, which will continue to be at the core of Foyles for many years to come.'

In December 2011, Foyles announced a third year of profitable trading for the financial year ending 30th June 2011, with pre-tax profits of £204,681, and sales for 1st to 24th December 2011 up 20% on the same period in the previous year, boosted by the opening of Foyles' newest bookshop at Westfield Stratford City in November. Children's book sales across the group increased 13.3% from 2010 to 2011.

Highlights of the last year included:

- the opening in March of Foyles' first branch outside London for seventy years, in Cabot Circus, Bristol
- the new London store at Westfield Stratford City in November, which is already trading well ahead of budget and poised to take full advantage of Olympic foot traffic in summer 2012
- the acquisition and merger in March 2011 of Grant & Cutler, making Foyles the largest foreign-language bookseller in the UK
- the redesign and rebuild of Foyles' website, which now has a range of 15 million physical books and offers over 200,000 e books for sale through a fully integrated eBook service with eReading apps, Foyles powered by txtr

Foyles' dynamic presence on social media is also a sign of the loyalty engendered by the brand and its staff, with the regular Friday #bookgame on Twitter becoming a hugely popular virtual event.

The chain's wide successful programme of literary events has recently been extended into partnerships with Time Out London and the Festival of Ideas in Bristol. Another recent coup has been an ongoing partnership with the Museum of London to highlight the Dickens bicentenary through a series of related literary talks and cross-promotions. The ever-popular publisher days run by Vintage, Picador and the Independent Alliance have continued to thrive. Children's events partnerships have been formed with the Discover Centre in Stratford and House of Illustration at Kings Cross.

Philippa Gregory, Iain Banks, Jackie Kay, Rose Tremain and Ben Okri are among the many authors who have appeared at free events in The Gallery at Foyles Charing Cross Road, while Alexander McCall Smith and Sebastian Faulks have sold out events in theatre venues. At the same time, Foyles has continued to expand its horizons for author signing events with popular musicians such as Danni Minogue, Jake Shears, Rufus Wainwright, and Jarvis Cocker alongside regular Ray's Jazz and classical music performances.

The last year has seen real growth for Foyles' children's departments. Every branch of Foyles employs at least one children's specialist - a buyer and bookseller who are fully engaged with both the market and their audiences to keep the incredibly varied children's offer relevant and exciting. In 2011 Foyles harnessed this expertise with the creation of the Foyles Kids Group - an internal resource-sharing network amongst the children's buyers and specialists from each shop, along with representatives from central buying and marketing.

Recent children's events at Foyles Charing Cross Road have included illustrators, Shaun Tan and Oliver Jeffers who designed an exclusive series of gift cards, bookmarks and tote bags for the shop. Foyles Westfield London and Foyles Westfield Stratford City run regular themed story times for younger readers with appearances from well-loved characters such as The Gruffalo and Elmer alongside events for schools on World Book Day. Foyles at Royal Festival Hall hosted Alice in Wonderland croquet on the lawn in the summer, and Pirate Storytelling in Foyles at Cabot Circus proved so popular that the Pirate Sticker Book topped that store's charts for weeks.

For older readers, autumn 2011 saw exclusive, sell-out London theatre events with American YA authors Cassandra Clare and Becca Fitzpatrick. Last year also saw the formation of monthly YA book group at Foyles Westfield London, where book-loving teens meet to discuss their favourite titles.

Foyles strengthens marketing and events team
New managers appointed at St Pancras and Royal Festival Hall

24th April 2012

Foyles, UK Bookseller of the year in 2008 and 2010, has strengthened its marketing and events team with the appointment of Lisa Bird, former manager at Foyles Royal Festival Hall branch, to role of local Marketing Manager for the Foyles branches. She has been with Foyles since 2005.

Taking on Lisa Bird's former role, Emilie Farcy has this month been promoted to Manager of the Royal Festival Hall branch from her previous position as supervisor at St Pancras. She joined Foyles 2008 from Gibert Jeune in Paris.

Following the departure of Rachael Lloyd, Gary Powell has been appointed manager of Foyles St Pancras. Formerly bookseller at the pop-up Foyles One New Change branch and supervisor at Royal Festival Hall, Powell joined Foyles in 2010 with over 20 years of book, media and gift retail management and buying for companies including Borders, Our Price and Virgin.

Additional support for the sales and marketing team comes from bookseller David Owen, who has taken on the role of administrator for The Gallery at Foyles Charing Cross Road and Children's Bookseller Neil Jackson, who has become part-time Children's Marketing & Events Coordinator.

This week Rebecca Hart, Manager of Foyles at Westfield Stratford City, and Rebecca Cameron, Manager of Foyles Westfield London, were both nominated for Manager of the year at The Bookseller Industry Awards 2012. Foyles is again shortlisted for the National Bookseller of the Year Award, and for Children's Bookseller of the Year, with the winners announced on 14 May.

- Ends -

For further information please contact
Chris Baker or Laura Norton at Four Colman Getty
020 3023 9032 / chris.baker@fourcolmangetty.com
020 3023 9905 / laura.norton@fourcolmangetty.com

Foyles and txtr join forces to provide new eBook service: Foyles powered by txtr

13 February 2012

- new e-Book store and free eReading apps
- access to all commercial eBook titles available in the UK, over 200,000
- bookmark, notes and Last Read syncing
- cloud storage with upload facility for non-proprietary eBooks and personal documents

Foyles bookshop, today Monday 13 February, launches Foyles powered by txtr, a new eBook store and free eReading apps with some features in beta. The integrated service will give users the choice of over 200,000 eBook titles, which can be accessed from a range of devices, and provides facilities for cloud storage.

Once signed up, readers will be able to access their personal eBook library from any internet enabled reading device - be it a smart phone, eReader, tablet or personal computer. Available for Android and Apple iOS platforms, the apps will also have the ability to synch bookmarks and notes across devices, as well as an option to integrate existing ePub and PDF libraries.

Foyles bookshops in London and Bristol are well known for their extensive range of books and knowledgeable staff. txtr is on a path to building the largest global eBook distribution network as a service to publishers, readers and its business partners. The eBook store is a joint activity between the marketing and sales teams of txtr and Foyles.

Sam Husain, Foyles' Chief Executive, comments:
"At Foyles we are very excited by the developments in reading and bookselling afforded by digital technology. Our new eBook store and apps, Foyles powered by txtr, will make buying and reading eBooks as easy as possible, without the added expense of having to buy new hardware. It is the next step in our on-going journey to serve our customers with a choice of books, across the widest possible range, in every format."

Christophe Maire, CEO of txtr, comments:
"The partnership with Foyles is another step for txtr in the fast growing English language eBook market. Foyles is for book lovers what brands such as Rolls Royce or Aston Martin are for car aficionados. The quality of their specialism is well-known and the depth of their offering is internationally renowned. Together, it is our intention to take eBook shop management to that same level."

Becky Jones, Foyles E-Commerce Manager, comments:
"The Foyles Powered by txtr project is very exciting new territory for Foyles. We have launched the apps today with some features in beta and look forward to feedback from our customers which we will use to develop the service in future."

Foyles powered by txtr is the first in a series of new digital developments to be announced by the family-owned bookshop chain, first established by brothers William and Gilbert Foyle in 1903. Further announcements are expected in the next few months.

txtr and Foyles are now looking for partners in other English speaking territories who would be interested in the joint eBook catalogue and distribution power of Foyles powered by txtr.

For further information please contact
Chris Baker or Liz Sich at Colman Getty
020 7631 2666 / chris@colmangetty.co.uk /liz@colmangetty.co.uk

Notes to Editors

About Foyles powered by txtr eBook store

- Foyles powered by txtr is part of the Foyles bookshop website at www.foyles.co.uk. It provides access to over 200,000 eBooks, with access from a range of eReading devices, facilities for cloud storage, syncing and the integration of existing eBook libraries.

- The user's online library contains all books bought in the Foyles powered by txtr eBook shop. In addition, other books or documents can be uploaded to the library on the web via txtr's unique upload feature.

- Besides searching for books and browsing by genre, users can discover books through channels, such as Featured Books or Authors, New Releases, Bestsellers or topical channels like Vampire Books, Thrillers, or Easter Reads. Channels are visually presented through banner graphics and rotating carousels of book covers.

- Users can preview books before they buy and can sort book lists such as search results, categories and channels by author, title and so on.

About Foyles powered by txtr apps

- Available for Apple iOS and Google Android platforms the free apps provide access to the Foyles powered by txtr eBook store

- Users can access their online personal library and download books from the online library to the Android and iOS device's library for reading on-the-go.

- The apps support EPUB, PDF, TXT and HTML formats in all major Western and European languages - including support for EPUB and PDF books protected with the industry standard Adobe DRM technology.

- Users can view information about books in their library and search for books.

- Bookshelf view offers consumers the opportunity to organise their library in a virtual, visual, bookshelf on their phone or tablet. It also adds the option to sort books by title, author, or recently read - useful for larger libraries.

- Reading progress is synced automatically between txtr Android or iOS and the personal online library and from there with other devices. Books are automatically opened at the last read page.

- Consumers can easily adjust font size or switch between day and night modes while reading.

- Users can annotate the book with bookmarks and notes. Bookmarks and notes are synced.

- An SD card can be used to store content.

About txtr

- txtr provides a global but locally relevant eReading solution to leading book retailers and to device makers and mobile operators to give hundreds of millions of smartphone and tablet users access to an eReading app. The txtr solution offers an end-to-end eBook discovery, purchase, read and share consumer experience, built on a back-end platform with store, personal library storage and an extensive international eBook catalogue. txtr currently already manages more than 25 local language eBook stores and is growing its international eBook offering. www.corporate.txtr.com

Foyles expansion leads strong Christmas sales

9 January 2012

Foyles' bookshops report strong Christmas trading, with sales across the group for the period 1st to 24th December 2011 up 20% on the same period in the previous year. The figure includes two new braches opened in 2011 at Westfield Stratford City and Bristol Cabot Circus.

The recently opened Westfield Stratford City was a star performer. Since opening in November booksellers have noticed a strong trend towards education, business, and language books, as well as bestsellers.

The Foyles.co.uk website also performed well, with book and eBook sales up 67%.

Continuing disruption caused by the transport development at Tottenham Court Road underground station saw sales at the flagship Charing Cross Road branch drop by 6%. The St Pancras and Royal Festival Hall branches reported particularly strong like-for-like figures, up 10% and 35% respectively.

Hardback classics sold particularly well, alongside the Man Booker Prize winning Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes and 1500 exclusive red-edged limited editions of Haruki Murakami's 1Q84. Another hit of the season was The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth.

The Top Five Christmas bestsellers at Foyles were:

1) Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (Vintage, £12.99)
2) 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (Harvill/Random House, £20.00)
3) The Quantum Universe by Brian Cox & Jeff Forshaw (Penguin, £20.00)
4) Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin (Penguin, £30.00)
5) River Cottage: Veg Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury, £25.00)

All five of Foyles Christmas bestsellers were included in the Foyles Christmas advertising campaign that featured cross-track, 4-sheet and escalator posters on both the London Underground and on prime sites in central London.

Sam Husain, Chief Executive of Foyles, comments:
"We are happy with our Christmas trading, although figures could have been stronger were it not for the handicap of the Tottenham Court Road underground station development. Range has always been our strength and the lack of runaway bestsellers enabled us to sell larger numbers of an even wider range of titles than usual. We refrained from discounting hardbacks such as the Steve Jobs biography, which did incredibly well and topped the charts at Westfield White City."

In December 2011 Foyles announced a third year of profitable trading for the financial year ending 30th June 2011. Net pre-tax profits were £204,681, after extraordinary expenses of £126,250. Turnover declined slightly to £22.8m (£23.1m in 2010) but with the business mix changing significantly.

Third year of profits for Foyles

21 December 2011

Foyles has announced a third year of profitable trading for the financial year ending 30th June 2011. At the same time, preliminary indications for Christmas trading seem good with sales for the weekend of 17th & 18th December up 5.8% on the same week end last year across the chain.

The independent bookselling chain, which currently has five branches in London and one in Bristol, reported net pre-tax profits of £204,681. Turnover declined very slightly to £22.8 million (£23.1 million in 2010) but with the business mix changing significantly. Sales at the Charing Cross Road branch have dipped due to the disruption created by the Cross Rail development but this has been offset by a higher contribution from new and existing businesses.

The established bookshops at the Royal Festival Hall and St Pancras International have continued to trade well ahead of the previous year. Foyles in the Charing Cross Road, however, has been hit by a significant decrease in footfall due to disruption caused by the Cross rail development at the junction of Tottenham Court Road.

"This disruption", says Foyles' Chief Executive, Sam Husain, "continues to be of concern. We estimate the sales shortfall at about £1.5 million on an annualised basis. However, thanks to particularly strong trading in our other branches, we are only down 0.8% on our previous year.

"We, like many of our fellow retailers on Charing Cross Road, are deeply concerned about the increasing adverse impact on trading in the area. We have been in constant communication with the City authorities and Transport for London to seek to remedy or at least mitigate the issue, and will continue to pursue all avenues to find a long term solution to this situation."

Foyles at Westfield in White City was restructured in 2010 which has resulted in a much improved net contribution.

Other highlights for the financial year, have included the opening in March of Foyles' first branch outside London for seventy years, in Cabot Circus, Bristol; the acquisition and merger in March of Grant & Cutler's Foreign Language business; and the redesign and rebuild of Foyles' website, which has a range of 13 million physical books and over 210,000 e books for sale.

The Foyles accounts also show two exceptional costs - the restructuring of the bookshop at Westfield White City and gala dinner to celebrate the eightieth anniversary of Foyles' famed Literary Luncheons.

Foyles expanded its literary events' programme, and focussed on widening its offer. It played host to Peter Mandelson, in partnership with The Times, at a sell-out event at the Peacock Theatre and, on the same evening, hosted a literary supper with Michael Palin at the St Pancras Grand. A host of well-known writers appeared at Charing Cross Road, including Michael Frayn, Will Self, William Gibson, Kathy Reichs, Jasper Fforde, Evan Davis and Anne Enright and the shop also hosted balloon debates, mini- festivals with publishers Vintage, Picador and Faber, and introduced a new strand of drama events with the cast and crew of original productions.

The St Pancras Grand Literary Suppers have proved particularly successful, with sell-out audiences for Jilly Cooper, PD James and Antonia Fraser. Foyles at Westfield London have developed a programme of children's and young adults events and TV stars Fearne Cotton, Holly Willoughby and Armstrong & Miller have all visited the shop.

Foyles at the Royal Festival Hall extended its offer to music CDs and videos and had a busy year supporting the South Bank's literary programme.

Foyles at Cabot Circus, Bristol, opened in the knowledge that a strong events programme would be key to its success and in the summer of 2011, saw a dedicated events space created for that purpose.

Foyles' Jazz and Classical events focussed on musicians of international renown, including the Chinese piano star Yundi, 'cellist Daniel Muller-Schott, violinist Charlie Siem, and tenor Ian Bostridge. The Gallery at Foyles continued to host exhibitions and private hires, working with everyone from MA programmes in illustration to books like Just My Type for creative displays of the history of fonts.

Foyles was the official bookseller once again for Taste of London and Taste of Christmas, and, for the third consecutive year, was the official bookseller for the London Book Fair.

Sam Husain, Chief Executive of Foyles, said:

"It has been a particularly challenging retail environment this year but I am pleased that our business has remained resilient and we have countered the disruption on Charing Cross Road by replacing lost revenue with new business streams. We recently launched a new bookshop in Westfield Stratford City and will continue to explore opportunities to open new bookshops at other key locations in the UK. However, we remain committed to offering our customers a high degree of specialisation and an unrivalled range of books in our London flagship store on Charing Cross Road None of this is possible without the continuing endeavour, expertise, dedication and commitment of the Management Team and all the staff at Foyles."

Christopher Foyle, Chairman of Foyles, added:

"It is pleasing to see the business record a third consecutive year of sustainable profit. Looking forward, we have exciting plans to relocate our flagship store on Charing Cross Road in 2013 or 2014 in what will be a re-developed, purpose-built bookstore in the former St Martin's College building, less than 100 metres from our existing shop."

Notes to Editors

- Like-for-like sales exclude sales from new activities - i.e part-year sales for the bookshops in One New Change and Cabot Circus, Bristol
- Foyles has branches on Charing Cross Road, at the Southbank Centre, at St Pancras International and Westfield White City, Westfield Stratford City and Cabot City, Bristol
- Foyles on line is at www.foyles.co.uk
- Foyles was founded in 1903 by two brothers - William and Gilbert Foyle; the business has been on Charing Cross Road since 1906 and remains in family ownership.

Foyles One New Change to close today

2 November 2011

Foyles, London's iconic bookshop chain, has confirmed today, Wednesday 2 November, will be its last day of trading at One New Change in the City of London.

Although its lease - signed in October 2010 as a short-term lease - expires in April 2012, Land Securities, who own the freehold to the One New Change development, have exchanged short-lease contracts with another well-known retail brand which is keen to move in as soon as possible.

Sam Husain, Foyles' Chief Executive, comments,

'Although we had been looking forward to a final Christmas at One New Change, we felt that an earlier exit will allow us to focus fully on the opening of our new shop in Westfield Stratford City and give its manager, Rebecca Hart, and her team all the support they need.

'Westfield Stratford City has been very busy since it opened last month and we are looking forward to our opening in early November and a really strong Christmas there.'

The Foyles One New Change booksellers have been redeployed within the company.

Foyles expands its online offer with second-hand, rare and out-of-print books

28 October 2011

Foyles, London's largest independent bookshop chain, announces a partnership with Monsoon Commerce today, Friday 28 October, to sell second-hand, rare and out-of-print books online via the Foyles website www.foyles.co.uk

The 'marketplace' experience offered by Monsoon Commerce will enable Foyles customers to access 14 million titles from sellers around the world all via the Foyles website. This includes the 3.5 million books in print in the UK and over 205,000 eBooks already available to customers through the Foyles website. The Foyles loyalty card, 'Foyalty', can be used online for all purchases as well as in store.

Sam Husain, CEO of Foyles, comments: 'Since re-launching our website in 2010 we have been steadily expanding our online retail offer. We look forward to working with Monsoon Commerce and giving people access to the vast range of second-hand, rare and out-of-print books available.'

Brian Elliott, CEO of Monsoon Commerce, comments: 'We're thrilled to support the expanding growth of Foyles while driving greater selection for their loyal customer base. In addition, by adding Foyles' base of customers to our ever-growing audience, this partnership highlights Monsoon Commerce's commitment to providing our sellers, in the UK and abroad, with access to the broadest base of buyers worldwide. It's a win-win for all.'

Dannii Minogue opens Foyles Westfield Stratford City

28 October 2011

Foyles, London's largest independent bookshop chain, opens in Westfield Stratford City, its first store in east London. To mark the opening, on Thursday 10 November 2011, one of Australia's best loved exports, TV presenter and singer, Dannii Minogue will sign copies of her new style bible, Dannii: My Style.

Dannii: My Style is an essential fashion bible by a woman who has appeared on numerous 'Best Dressed' lists, and who was named one of the world's Top Ten most stylish women by Vogue.

In addition to meeting Dannii there is the opportunity to WIN one of the 'London' dresses from her Project D collection. Simply email events@foyles.co.uk to reserve your place in the priority signing queue and you will be automatically entered

During the opening weekend, 11-13 November, customers can enjoy the opportunity to win prizes in the Foyles tombola. A variety of prizes include in-store discounts and gift cards to limited edition books, tote bags, exclusive prints and more

Foyles in Westfield Stratford City has over 25,000 titles featuring a range of fiction, children's, sport, travel, business, art and more. The store is located on the lower ground floor, next to Waitrose.

Foyles partners with Bristol Festival of Ideas to extend scope of year-round events and Best Book of Ideas Prize

5 October 2011

Foyles, the UK's leading independent bookshop chain, has partnered with the Bristol Festival of Ideas, the city's leading literary, art and science festival, in order to expand the already impressive festival programme with a number of events held in-store at Foyles Cabot Circus, Bristol.

The partnership also extends to sponsorship of the Best Book of Ideas Prize, for which Foyles will contribute judging advice, host the shortlist event and have creative input throughout the process. The prize will be announced at a ceremony in May at St George's in Bristol. Previous winners of the prize include Nick Davies for Flat Earth News, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett for The Spirit Level and Dan Hind for The Return of the Public.

Now in its 7th year, the Bristol Festival of Ideas is attended by tens of thousands of festival-goers and features many of the world's best-known writers, scientists, thinkers and artists, with over 150 events organised annually. There is a concentrated period of at least 70 events in May and other events throughout the year. The festival has financial backing from Arts Council England, Bristol City Council and Bristol's business community.

Susan Sinclair, Foyles Divisional Manager responsible for Foyles Bristol, comments:
'As relative newcomers to the Bristol community, we feel very fortunate to be able to work with the Bristol Festival of Ideas - a true gem of a festival that aims to highlight the best in contemporary thinking year-round. As an independent bookshop we traffic in ideas - whether they come in the form of novels, polemics, or historical journeys - so this is a natural fit.'

Andrew Kelly, Director of Bristol Festival of Ideas, comments:
'We're delighted that Foyles has joined us as partner in this prize. Bookshops are festivals of ideas every day of the week, and there is no better partner for us than Foyles. It means that we can continue our work in celebrating the writer of the best book of ideas each year, and provide a focus for debate and discussion around all our excellent writers.'

The Festival of Ideas will continue to work with a varied number of booksellers and venues in the Bristol community for its events outside Foyles, such as the Arnolfini and Watershed.

Rebecca Hart appointed manager of Foyles, Westfield Stratford City, as planned closure of Foyles, One New Change is confirmed

4 October 2011

Foyles announced today, 4 October, that Rebecca Hart will move from her role as buyer for Royal Festival Hall and St Pancras to manage the new 5,500 sq.ft. Westfield Stratford City branch. Rebecca has worked for Foyles since 2006.

Foyles also confirmed today, 4 October that it expects to close its One New Change branch when its 15-month lease expires in April 2012.

The 1,300 sq.ft.One New Change 'booktique' opened in October 2010 on a short-term lease, just before the start of the Christmas trading season. Foyles at One New Change will enjoy a second season of Christmas trading before it closes to free up resources both for the new Foyles at Westfield Stratford City and the recently expanded Foyles at Cabot Circus in Bristol.

The One New Change shop has been managed centrally by Susan Sinclair who also looks after Foyles shops at Royal Festival Hall, St Pancras and Cabot Circus in Bristol. The booksellers at Foyles One New Change will be redeployed within the company.

Foyles' Chief Executive, Sam Husain, comments:
'Our temporary shop at One New Change has been an incredible learning experience. We knew that 1,300 sq.ft. would not be big enough to do justice to our range and we therefore only committed to a short-term lease, expiring in April next year. Our newest shop in Westfield Stratford City is a much larger space which will allow us to play on our strengths of range and expertise.'

Foyles Westfield Stratford City is due to open in early November in Europe's largest urban shopping centre, next door to the site of the 2012 Olympics. With over 1.9million sq.ft. of retail and leisure space and home to over 300 shops anchored by John Lewis, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and a 17-screen Vue cinema, Foyles is situated on the ground floor, with an additional mezzanine space, near Waitrose and John Lewis, and surrounded by leading children's retailers.

Foyles bookshop in Bristol plans a series of events and promotions to celebrate opening of second floor

10 August 2011

Foyles bookshop, which opened in Quaker's Friars in Bristol in March this year, celebrates the opening of its second floor event and gallery space. Foyles' second floor will also house an extended range of titles including biography, sport and health.

Over the weekend, 20-21 August, there are free events and promotions to enjoy. Including:
- Meet cycling enthusiast and author Rob Penn, 2pm on Saturday and watch a bicycle wheel being built by a wheel-builder from Argos cycles.
- Free first book for young and teen readers - choosing from one of five age-appropriate titles, hand selected by knowledgeable Foyles staff, 5 - 16 year old young readers can pick up a first book free. They will also receive a loyalty stamp card which when full entitles them to a £5 Foyles gift card
- Enjoy 15% off all books instore
- Hear storytelling - 5-8 year olds can enjoy stories being read aloud from 1-3pm
- Free refreshments and cakes throughout the weekend
- Enter your name and email to win a £100 shopping spree instore at Foyles

The Foyles Bristol second floor event and gallery space will continue to host a variety of literary evenings, book clubs, poetry readings and open mic nights. Events planned in the autumn include Anna Funder, Steve Fuller and Julian Baggini in conjunction with Bristol Festival of Ideas and the Foyles programme also includes events with Tom Percival, Thomas Penn, John Bradshaw, Judith Flanders and Toby Wilkinson.

On Tuesday 23rd August, Foyles Bristol hosts an event with Andrey Kurkov, a master of surreal and darkly funny fiction and author of Death and the Penguin who is back with The Milkman in the Night, a story of post-Soviet Kiev in which a man's mysterious bouts of sleepwalking lead him into a dangerous adventure. 6pm - 7pm in Foyles Bristol.

Foyles bookshop offers free books for young readers in support of the London Evening Standard's Get London Reading initiative, 23-25 July

21 July 2011

Continuing to support the London Evening Standard campaign to Get London Reading Foyles bookshop is offering 3,000 free books to children and teen readers over the first weekend of the school summer holidays, Saturday 23- Monday 25 July 2011.

All they need to do is visit one of the five London Foyles stores and ask for their free book. They can choose one of five age-appropriate titles, hand selected by knowledgeable Foyles staff for 5-7 year olds, 7-12 year olds and 13-16 year olds.

With every free book, Foyles will be giving away a loyalty stamp card to encourage them to continue reading. Once the stamp card is filled with ten stamps then they will be eligible for a £5 gift card redeemable instore and online in Foyles.

The free books are:

5-7 years
- Find Chaffy by Jamie Smart (Scholastic)

7-11 years
- Why is Snot Green by Glenn Murphy (Pan Macmillan)
- InivisibleWomble by Elisabeth Beresford (Bloomsbury)

12+ years
- Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman (Random House)
- The Alchemyst by Michael Scott (Random House)

Foyles is working closely with Volunteer Reading Help, the London Evening Standard's Get London Reading partner, to encourage students from across London to take advantage of this offer.

For further information please contact Kate Wright-Morris
or Chris Baker at Colman Getty on 020 7631 2666 or kate@colmangetty.co.uk / chris@colmangetty.co.uk

Notes to Editors

- The books are available while stocks last. One book per child. General terms & conditions are on the Foyles website at: www.foyles.co.uk/get-london-reading

- The titles have been donated by publishers: Random House, Pan Macmillan, Bloomsbury and Scholastic

Foyles to open at Westfield Stratford City

13 June 2011

Foyles, Britain's largest independent bookshop chain and twice UK Bookseller of the Year in 2008 and 2010, announced today that it is to open its seventh branch at Westfield Stratford City.

The new shop will be in Europe's largest urban shopping centre, next door to the site of the 2012 Olympics. With over 1.9million square feet of retail and leisure space and home to over 300 shops anchored by John Lewis, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and a 17-screen Vue cinema, the new bookshop will trade from over 5,000 square feet. It will be situated on the ground floor, with an additional mezzanine space, near Waitrose and John Lewis, and surrounded by leading children's retailers.

Foyles at Westfield Stratford City, due to open later this year, will be under the overall management of Tom Nind, the Company's Operations Manager. The process of recruiting a shop manager, shop supervisor and full time booksellers will commence soon.

The shop will have over 25,000 titles featuring a range of fiction, children's, sport, travel, business, art and more.

Sam Husain, CEO of Foyles, comments,
'Our aim is to get books to as many readers as possible, so we're very excited about the opportunity to reach book lovers in a part of London that is new to us. Westfield's vision for cultural experience, education and youth engagement makes the Stratford City centre, adjacent to the 2012 Olympic site, a particularly strong fit. Following our successful partnership with Westfield in establishing our bookshop in Westfield London, we look forward to working closely with the centre and the community for years to come.'

Bill Giouroukos, Director of Operations at Westfield, said:
'Foyles is an extremely important part of our overall retail mix and we are delighted that they will be opening their seventh UK branch at Westfield Stratford City, building on the successful partnership we have established together at Westfield London. Westfield Stratford City is creating a new leisure and lifestyle destination for London and, as the gateway to the Olympic Park, will provide a world stage for retailers next summer.'

Foyles recently opened its first shop outside London in Bristol's Cabot Circus. Its flagship store is on Charing Cross Road and its other bookshops are at the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank, in St Pancras International, One New Change and in Westfield London. Additionally, Foyles has a specialist library supply and commercial accounts division (now incorporating Grant & Cutler's foreign languages) and a fully transactional web site, selling a range of print and electronic books. Foyles was founded in 1903 by two brothers - William and Gilbert Foyle; trading on Charing Cross Road for over 100 years.

Foyles Buys Grant & Cutler

21 March 2011

Foyles, Britain's largest independent bookshop chain and twice Bookseller of the Year, in 2008 and 2010, announced today that it has taken over the business of Grant & Cutler, the largest foreign language bookshop in the UK.

Grant & Cutler, which stocks more than 40,000 books, DVDs, CDs, games and software packages in over 150 languages in its Great Marlborough Street shop, and which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, will move to Foyles' flagship store on Charing Cross Road on 21st March 2011, shortly before the expiry of its lease.

Situated on the first floor of Foyles, the department will be branded Grant & Cutler at Foyles, expanding and developing Foyles' existing languages department. The enlarged retail foreign languages department will be under the overall management of Sion Hamilton, the flagship store's General Manager. Grant & Cutler specializes in the major Western European languages and Russian but also covers all living languages, from Afrikaans to Zulu. It also carries substantial stocks of books in Arabic and the Eastern European languages, particularly Polish. When amalgamated, the foreign languages department will stock around 25,000 titles.

Following the move, the majority of Grant & Cutler's staff will relocate either to Foyles retail foreign languages department or to the Commercial Accounts Division. Stephen Cooper, the former Managing Director of Grant & Cutler, will assume managerial responsibility for the combined Commercial Accounts Division, which will now have a specialist languages arm servicing schools, libraries, institutions, corporate businesses and subscription accounts.

Grant & Cutler's website will continue to operate as a separate entity with appropriate cross-links to Foyles' website.

Sam Husain, CEO of Foyles, comments,

'We are delighted that Grant & Cutler has found a new home at Foyles and very much look forward to creating what will be the best and most extensive foreign languages bookselling business in the UK. We already welcome customers from all over the world to Foyles and will be able to offer them an unrivalled range of books.'

Stephen Cooper, former Managing Director of Grant & Cutler added:

'I am very pleased that Grant & Cutler have successfully secured its future by relocating and merging the business with Foyles' foreign languages and Commercial Accounts business. I look forward to managing the enlarged Commercial Accounts Division and working with the senior Management Team at Foyles to continue to build on the success of the two Companies in this specialist area'.

Foyles recently announced that it will open its sixth branch in Bristol in March. In November 2010, it opened in the City of London at One New Change. Its flagship store is on Charing Cross Road and its other bookshops are at the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank, in St Pancras International and in Westfield London. Foyles was founded in 1903 by two brothers - William and Gilbert Foyle; and has traded on Charing Cross Road for over 100 years.

Foyles to get new space on Charing Cross Road

28 February 2011

Noved Investment Holdings has announced that it has bought the 74,780 sq ft (GEA) building at 107-109 Charing Cross Road, currently owned by University of Arts and housing the Central St Martin's School of Art.

Noved, who have a similar share ownership to Foyles, also own the freehold of Foyles' flagship bookstore at 113-119 Charing Cross Road. This will be an opportunity for Foyles to relocate its flagship store to new, purpose-built bookselling space, in the adjacent refurbished building, in around two years. The University will leave the building for its new home at King's Cross this August. Building work is expected to begin by the end of the year.

The new shop will retain Foyles' unique character, with its award-winning café and gallery space. The retail space will be about the same as at present but arranged on three floors, with a significantly better layout, including a substantial increase in space at ground floor levels.

Above the new store, plans are being worked up with Hines, the US developer, for residential space. The scheme will retain much of the existing building, and in particular the front elevation and assembly room. Noved and Hines are in discussions with Westminster City Council, and expect to lodge a formal application shortly.

Foyles' current site at 113-119 Charing Cross Road, once vacated, will be available for redevelopment. Noved also bought the freehold to 111 Charing Cross Road three years ago, and shortly afterwards 10 Greek Street. Foyles has been selling books on London's Charing Cross Road since 1906.

Sam Husain, CEO of Foyles, comments,
"This is a wonderful opportunity for Foyles to create a modern, purpose-built flagship store and guarantee the future of bookselling on London's historic Charing Cross Road. Although our customers may not realise it, we currently occupy over 40,000 square feet in five separate buildings at 113-119 Charing Cross Road; our new home, just 15 yards down the road, will provide a fantastic environment for book lovers and booksellers alike."

Philip Tolhurst, CEO of Noved, comments,

"We have, over the last few years, been consolidating our portfolio of properties between Charing Cross Road and Greek Street, and we are delighted to have been able to acquire this building which gives us an excellent opportunity to re-house the store almost next door, and thus retain the reputation of this rapidly improving area as the literary heart of London. The designs for the new store from Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands are very exciting and will provide a landmark building appropriate for Foyles."

Foyles recently announced that it will open its sixth branch in Bristol in March and last November it opened in the City of London at One New Change. Its other bookshops are at the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank, in St Pancras International and in Westfield London. Foyles was founded in 1903 by two brothers - William and Gilbert Foyle and has traded on Charing Cross Road for over 100 years.

Foyles to Open in Bristol later in 2011

25 January 2011

Foyles, Britain's largest independent bookshop chain and twice UK Bookseller of the Year in 2008 and 2010, announced today that it is to open a sixth branch in Bristol. It will be Foyles' first shop outside London for 70 years.

The new shop, which will open in early March, is in Cabot Circus, Bristol's award winning retail and leisure destination, which opened in September 2008. Home to over 120 shops, including 15 flagship stores, Cabot Circus - jointly owned by Land Securities and Hammerson - is situated in the heart of the city. Foyles at Quakers Friars, close to Harvey Nichols, Apple and Brasserie Blanc, will have just over 5,500 square feet on two floors. Current plans are to have a café, performance area and back-office functions on the upper floor, with the ground floor exclusively devoted to books.

Foyles at Quakers Friars will open in early March and will be under the overall management of Susan Sinclair, who is now Divisional Manager, with additional responsibilities for Foyles' branches in the City of London, St Pancras and The Royal Festival Hall . A new shop manager and staff will be recruited locally.

The shop will have over 13,000 titles featuring a range of fiction, children's, cookery, art, history and travel books.

Sam Husain, CEO of Foyles, comments,
'We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Foyles to Bristol. When we won the Bookselling Company of the Year in May, we were praised for our "big values, bold ideas and bookselling prowess" and we are really looking forward to sharing that expertise with the people of Bristol.'

Land Securities' Managing Director for Retail, Richard Akers, said: 'It's a sign of great confidence in Bristol to have the first Foyles bookshop outside London in decades. It also reflects Cabot Circus's growing reputation as the South West's premier retail and leisure destination.

'The retail experience that Foyles offer represents a unique addition to Cabot Circus. Foyles has an award-winning reputation that blends perfectly within Quakers Friars - the restored historic area of Cabot Circus.'

Foyles recently opened in the City of London at One New Change in November. Its flagship store is on Charing Cross Road and its other bookshops are at the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank, in St Pancras International and in Westfield London. Foyles was founded in 1903 by two brothers - William and Gilbert Foyle; trading on Charing Cross Road for over 100 years.

Notes to Editors

- Foyles at Quakers Friars, Cabot Circus, Bristol is open Monday - Saturday 10 am to 8pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm

- Foyles has branches on Charing Cross Road, at Southbank Centre, in St Pancras International, Westfield London, and One New Change, as well as an e-commerce website www.foyles.co.uk

- Foyles' flagship store is at 113-119 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0EB
Tel: 020 7437 5660 Fax: 020 7434 1574 Opening hours are: Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 9pm; Sunday 11.30 to 6pm. orders@foyles.co.uk

- Foyles Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London SE1 is open daily from 10am -10pm

- Foyles at St Pancras International is open Monday to Saturday 7am-9.30pm; Sunday 9am-8pm

- Foyles at Westfield London, Level Two, London W12 is open daily Monday to Wednesday 10am - 9pm, Thursday & Friday 10am - 10pm; Saturday 9am - 9pm; Sunday 12pm - 6pm

- Foyles at One New Change EC2 is open Monday-Wednesday and Friday from 10am - 7pm, Thursday from 10am - 8pm, Saturday from 10am - 6pm and Sunday from 11am - 5pm

- The Foyles website www.foyles.co.uk has over 1.2million books for sale as well as eBooks and eReaders alongside details of live stock availability from Charing Cross Road, events and signings

- Land Securities is the UK's largest commercial property company and a member of the FTSE 100. The company owns and manages more than 29 million sq ft of property, from shopping centres to offices. For more information see www.landsecurities.com

For further information please contact Liz Sich, Kate Wright-Morris
or Chris Baker at Colman Getty
on 020 7631 2666
E: liz@colmangetty.co.uk / kate@colmangetty.co.uk / Chris@colmangetty.co.uk