The Book People

The Book People Ltd was a UK online bookseller founded in 1988. It went into administration in 2019 and was formally dissolved in 2022.

The Book People
IndustryRetail
Book sales
Founded26 August 1988 (1988-08-26)
FoundersTed and Nicola Smart
DefunctMarch 2, 2022 (2022-03-02)
ProductsBooks

History

The Book People started business in 1988, initially in the Guildford, Surrey area. It expanded rapidly, and by 1990 the company had 140 distributors around the country.[1] A mail-order catalogue was followed by an online store in 1998. In 2002 the company opened offices in Haydock, Merseyside and, with part funding by the Welsh Government, a customer service centre and warehouse in Bangor.[2]

In 2007, The Book People won the Direct to Consumer Bookselling Company of the Year Award at the Bookseller Retail Awards. The company's founder Ted Smart received the Random House Group Award for Outstanding Contribution to Bookselling.[3]

A management buy-out of the company took place in 2014, with support from Endless LLP, a UK-based equity investor. By February 2016 the company was employing over 600 staff.[4]

On 17 December 2019, the BBC reported that The Book People had gone into administration.[5] PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were appointed administrators, with the company continuing to trade while Endless LLP looked for a buyer. In August 2020 the company name was changed to TBP Realisations Limited. No buyer was ultimately found, and the company was formally dissolved in March 2022.[6]

Business activities

The Book People ordered titles in bulk directly from publishers and suppliers, forgoing the right of return.[7]

In conjunction with Scholastic the company hosted online bookshops for Channel 4's TV Book Club, CITV's Bookaboo, and the Big Book Babble programme.[8] Between 2008 and 2014 it hosted a biennial Queen of Teen award for authors of teen fiction. Winners were Louise Rennison (2008), Cathy Cassidy (2010), Maureen Johnson (2012) and Juno Dawson (2014).[9]

References
  1. About Us by Book People, 2016.
  2. "> Business > Book People to create 180 jobs in North Wales". News Wales. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  3. Blackwell takes awards crown by Graeme Neill, thebookseller.com, 21 September 2007. Archived at Internet Archive.
  4. "Failure Page". Wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  5. "The Book People goes into administration". 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  6. "TBP Realisations Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  7. Book People Promise by Book People, 2016.
  8. "Big Book Babble". Big Book Babble. 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  9. "Queen of teen 2014". Queen of Teen. Book People. Archived from the original on 2016-03-18.
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