Book People
 |
|
| Industry |
Retail Book sales |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder | Ted Smart |
| Headquarters | Godalming, Surrey, UK |
|
Area served
|
UK, Ireland |
|
Key people
|
William Wellesley (CEO) Simon Mason (COO) Ajay Patel (CFO) Scott Scott (CDO) |
| Products | Books |
| Owner | Endless LLP |
| Website | www.thebookpeople.co.uk |
Book People is a discount bookseller based in Godalming, Surrey, UK. Founded in 1988 by two book enthusiasts, Ted Smart and Seni Glaister, on the principle of making books available and affordable to everyone, Book People sells an extensive range of hand-picked books, gifts, toys and stationery through its award-winning website, mail-order catalogue, and in workplaces and schools via a nationwide network of Book People Local distributors.
Book People started business in 1988 with one van, visiting offices in the Guildford, Surrey area, where the company found its first customers. By 1990, there were 140 Book People Local distributors around the country visiting workplaces such as bakeries, banks, schools and hospitals.
As demand for their books grew, Book People launched their mail-order catalogue, to give their customers another convenient way to shop their range of hand-picked books. This was shortly followed by their online store in 1998, giving Book People’s growing number of customers a place to buy all of their books from one easy-to-use website.
Having initially operated solely from a base in Godalming, Surrey, the company went through a period of rapid expansion by opening offices in Haydock, Merseyside and a customer service centre and warehouse in Bangor, Wales in 2002. As of February 2016, the company employed over 600 staff.
In September 2014, Endless LLP, a UK-based equity investor, supported a management buy-out of Book People.
Book People’s dedicated team of buyers use their years of experience to carefully curate the company’s ‘hand-picked favourites’ range. They then order and stock this restricted range of titles in bulk direct from publishers and suppliers, forgoing the right of return, which gives the company the unique opportunity of offering customers savings of up to 75% off RRP on 1,000s of products.
Book People also stocks an extensive range of over 100,000 books, gifts, toys and stationery – where their customers can browse and buy bestsellers, classic books, chart titles and more, which offer savings up to 20% off RRP.
Book People Local is the company’s offline direct-to-consumer channel, which has been bringing books to companies, schools, charitable organisations and hospitals all over the United Kingdom since the company’s formation. Book People supplies Book People Local distributors with a selection of books and gifts to be delivered directly to customers in places of work. These items are then left in the workplace for potential customers to browse and place their orders. Seven days later, the distributor will return with customers’ ordered items.
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Wikipedia