Blackwells Hit Rock Bottom

Just announced - Blackwell Ltd, the academic bookselling and library supply business, made an operating loss of £10.1m in the year to 2nd July 2005. The loss, up from £6.6m the previous year, came on total sales of £158.5m, down from £186m. By comparison profits remain healthy at FirstBookshop.com - the year just completed, ending March '06, saw sales up by over 113%. A considerable number of First Bookshop's customers are ex AUSTICKS book shoppers - the firm that Blackwell's bought out in Leeds a number of years back and then irrationally shut down all stores bar one - an out of town campus shop, one that the average Leeds consumer would never go to. Fortunately their loss is our gain :)