Weak Waterstones?

Waterstone’s like-for-like sales fell 6.1% for the nine weeks to 1st July 2006, as “trading conditions in the first few weeks of the new financial year have remained difficult,” parent company HMV said today. The decline follows a 5.8% like-for-like decrease in the year to 29th April 2006, which the company described as a “very poor trading performance”. The chain’s total sales fell by 4.8% to £418.7m in the year. Waterstone’s has initiated a £10m integration programme for Ottakar’s, closing its offices in Salisbury, Clapham and London Bridge with 114 people at risk of redundancy. Ottakar's 142 stores will be rebranded as Waterstone's by Christmas, with no store closures immediately planned. Can 142 'new stores' stimulate an increase in sales? We tend to think not, as the stores involved will loose their unique identity overnight, causing loyal customers to 'jump ship'. Perhaps their salvation will be the launch later this year of a proper Waterstones website, then again perhaps not - think they have well and truly missed the boat on that one!
Waterstone's main high street competitor BORDERS has just announced that their losses in the second-quarter, ending 29th July '06, will be greater than expected.
Just WHO IS going to be the weakest link...the race is on.

Bridlington Town Gets Its First Shopping Site!

LAUNCHED TODAY: www.bridnet.co.uk
The 1st genuine Bridlington shopping site: BRIDNET.
Signed up for launch day of June 1st 2006 are:
B&Q - Burtons - Chiltern Mills - Currys - Garlands - JD Sports - Tesco - The Original Factory Shop - The Post Office - Woolworths.
Many more in the process of signing up.
For retail therapy - Bridlington style - visit: www.bridnet.co.uk NOW!

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 :)

London EU Domains For Hire

Sorry, all our London EU domain names have now been let.

Garforth Town Website: East Leeds UK

'Garforth.Net'
Garforth, where it all began!
The birthplace of the great Yorkshire entrepeneur:
ROGER BERNARD CROSSLAND.
To give something back to the town that made him so famous, he created
the official town website for business adverts and shopping
(recently expanded to feature local history, local schools and local sport). Current featured retailers are:
The Bookshop / The Card Shop / The Cycle Shop / The Golf Shop / The Health Shop / The Music Shop / The Record Shop / The Sports Shop / The Sweet Shop.
ALSO: The Bed Outlet / The Drinks Shop / The DIY Outlet / Electrical Goods / The Newsagent / The Post Office / The Slimming Club / The Stationers / Tesco / The Toys, Games, Hobby Outlet.
There is an Estate Agent link, plus if you click onto: YORKSHIRE LINKS:BEST OF THE REST you will find, amongst other recommended businesses, the leading Garforth Estate Agent MIKE DOBSON.

Last but not least, in fact from feedback so far - the most welcome feature, a direct link to: GARFORTHBKZ.COM - the retro re release of the original refurbed Garforth book site!

Advertise on 'Garforth.Net' for £10 per month for a business link. If you have no web site to link to, we can build you a web page for £50 plus a further smaller charge for each additional page. Your website can then be featured on 'Garforth.Net' ongoing for £10 per month. Shops above, for example click on THE SHOP may also be available and can be replaced with your business as outlined. Private individuals may place an advert for £1.25 per week, subject to our approval - minimum contract 4 weeks. 'Garforth.Net' is very highly placed with the search engine 'Google' therefore your business will get maximum exposure on the internet.
Garforthnet.Com 'a community and trade site - as trade is part of this community'

East Yorkshire Jobs

Our job site BRIDJOBS goes from strength to strength :)
We are now the number one portal for recruitment in East Yorkshire.
Why not work for EBUYER at their new Howden premises :
http://www.bridjobs.bizland.com/howden.htm
Or at FREEPORT HORNSEA the UK's first Outlet development :
http://www.bridjobs.bizland.com/hornsea.htm
Alternatively, if you just want to browse through all of our current vacancies or indeed advertise a vacancy, please visit our home page at :
http://www.bridjobs.co.uk/
What was once classed as traditional ways of recruitment for the area is no more.
Advertising in the local newspapers is so last century!

Civil Partnerships / Gay Weddings

We have seen a dramatic upsurge in gift voucher orders, particularly Theatre Tokens, due to the change in legislation, which has made legal the registration of same sex partnerships in the UK. Typical of the type of order that is now arriving daily, is one that came in yesterday from a lady in New York: 4 x £20 theatre Tokens (£80 in total) to be sent to Middlesex, with the following dedication: Dear Uncle Dennis and Colin, Congratulations on your Wedding. All our love, L & P.
So if you know anyone tying the pink knot, what better way is there for you to congratulate them, than extending their celebrations with an all expenses paid night out at the theatre, with Theatre Tokens: the UK national theatre gift voucher scheme
http://www.firstbookshop.com/TheatreTokens.htm