The Bookseller reports that 20% of the books in WH Smits’ new terminal two stores will be Irish.

The company has also hired Alison Scanlon as a dedicated Irish buyer.

THe Bookseller also features a quote from Dermot O’Dwyer, m.d. of Gill & Macmillan:

“The market is different to the UK and there’s generally more interest in Irish books. Easons is a dominant player so the arrival of someone else is a good thing providing the economy’s recovery continues.”

Eason has opened a new bookstore in the former Hughes & Hughes store on Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

The store opened on Saturday 6th June and has new stock including the new Stephanie Meyer and The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner.

Hughes & Hughes ceased to trade at the location on Friday 26th February after it went into receivership. It cited high rents as one of the reasons for the move.

Eason already has a branch on Dun Laoghaire’s main shopping street Upper Georges Street. The two-floor store stocks books, stationary, magazines, newspapers and confectionery.

Aside from the Dun Laoghaire branch, Eason has taken over the Dublin airport stores once operated by Hughes and Hughes.

The Bookseller reports today that WH Smith will be using their new Terminal Two stores at Dublin Airport as a testing ground for expansion in Ireland:

A spokesperson for WHS said: “It’s part of a trial we are doing to see how the model works in international markets. This gives us the opportunity to test our approach on a slightly larger scale in the Republic of Ireland.”

British bookshop chain WH Smith will open three stores in Terminal Two when the new terminal opens later this year. The news was confirmed as part of the Dublin Airport Authority’s announcement of the initial list of retailers for Terminal Two.

WH Smith will be joined in Terminal Two by giftware specialists House of Ireland, Irish fashion group Azure, Swiss jewellery retailer Swatch Group, and cosmetics company Jo Malone.

The opening of the WH Smith stores will create competition for books in the airport for the first time. Eason now operates five stores in Terminal One following the collapse of the Hughes & Hughes bookshop chain in February.

For more, The Bookseller or read the DAA Statement below:

The round-up of the last two weeks posts!

Eason & Son has signed a license with the Dublin Airport Authority to take over all of Hughes & Hughes’ stores in Cork and Dublin airports.

The DAA confirmed this afternoon that Eason will take over the five stores in Dublin Airport and two in Cork Airport.

As part of the deal it is ‘likely’ that 120 Hughes & Hughes staff will be kept on.

Instead of paying a fixed annual rent Eason will pay the DAA a percentage of turnover. Hughes & Hughes operated under a similar arrangement with the Authority.

Hughes and Hughes announced less than a week ago that it was going into receivership and closing all of its 13 stores, however all of its airport-based stores had been kept open by the Receiver trading with existing stock.

Eason said the new license to operate takes effect from tomorrow.

‘These are prestigious retail locations and we decided to take up this opportunity, despite the challenging marketplace at present’, Managing Director of Eason Conor Whelan said.

The new airport outlets increase the number of Eason stores to 54.

Eason said the Dublin and Cork airport bookshop licences were viewed as the ‘most attractive’ part of Hughes & Hughes’ business.

It said more than 20 million passengers passed through Dublin Airport last year, while 2.8 million went through Cork Airport.

Responding to the news, Managing Director of Penguin Ireland Michael McLoughlin said he was pleased that a ‘strong retailer who understands the business has taken over the stores.’

He said it is ‘good for Irish publishers and Irish books’ adding that he is happy to see that the stores would not be closed for any time.

Managing Director of O’Brien Press Ivan O’Brien said he was ‘delighted that the airport shops are staying in Irish ownership and that Irish cultural heritage will be preserved,’ adding that he was pleased that ‘Irish buyers who know Irish habits will be stocking the shops.’

Echoing those sentiments, Co-Founder of Liberties Press Peter O’Connell welcomed the move and the large number of jobs retained. He said it is a good result for Irish publishers.

However, sources within the publishing industry expressed some concern that the seven new outlets give Eason more dominance in the Irish bookselling market and would lead to increased pressure on trading terms.

2010003004DAAStatementOnEasonsAndHughes&Hughes

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Hughes & Hughes Dun Laoghaire

Deloitte’s Noel Brown, who is part of Receiver David Carson’s team, said all 80 staff at the Dublin Airport stores and an unconfirmed number at Cork Airport have been retained for the time being and the stores are trading using existing stock.

Hughes and Hughes operated six outlets in Dublin Airport and one in Cork Airport. All other stores remain closed.

In a statement on Friday, Hughes & Hughes said it was going into receivership with the loss of 225 jobs.

Mr Brown said following discussions with the Dublin Airport Authority, it was decided that the stores should stay open and staff were asked to arrive for work at their regular times.

Interest shown

Mr Brown said the airport shops in Dublin and Cork are profitable.

Although he is not party to any negotiations and could not comment on the identity of potential buyers, he said said that ‘interest has been shown in the stores’ and the Receiver would like ‘to conclude a deal sooner rather than later’.

A report in the Sunday Business Post suggested British retailer WH Smith as a potential buyer.

Speaking about the wider group, Mr Brown said it was ‘gloomy picture’ as Hughes & Hughes ‘don’t have many assets that can be realised’. One asset that had been overlooked and might be worth something, he said, was the brand name.

Hughes & Hughes, the second largest Irish bookshop chain, went into receivership on Friday. Irish Publishing News covered the story here.

Despite notice that all stores had been closed, the DAA confirmed that the airport stores remained open. That story was covered here.

The Sunday Business Post covered speculation that WH Smith might be seeking to acquire the Airport outlets and so did Irish Publishing News.

Martin Black, Eason O’Connell Street (Dublin) Manager, spoke on RTE’s The Marian Finucane Show on Sunday and Irish Publishing News covered what he said.

WH Smith is reported to be ‘considering a bid’ for the assets of Hughes & Hughes, according to The Sunday Business Post.

The paper reports that the British retailer is particularly interested in the Dublin and Cork airport stores, which the DAA confirmed were still open this weekend.

WH Smith has already sought the tender for stores in the new terminal building at Dublin Airport, The Sunday Business Post reports. The company currently operates the bookshop concession in Shannon Airport

Irish book retailer Eason is also reported as a potential bidder for some of Hughes and Hughes stores including the airport branches, according to the report.

Hughes & Hughes, which had 13 retail outlets and traded online, went into receivership on Friday with the loss of 225 jobs.

Enquiries with the DAA this morning reveal that the Hughes & Hughes stores remain open and that customers can buy books and magazines there today.

For more on this story, read our full story from yesterday or last night’s round-up.