The Hughes & Hughes store in Dundalk, which was first opened in 2004, has reopened today creating eight jobs.

Derek Hughes, Managing Director, said, ‘To be re-opening our much acclaimed store in Dundalk is very gratifying and illustrates the long term confidence we have in Dundalk.  I am especially pleased for our Manager, Ellie Winters, and many of our staff, who will be rejoining us.’ He added that ‘Trading in our other five stores that have reopened has been very strong over the last three months and we are confident that Hughes & Hughes Dundalk will follow this trend.’

Ellie Winters, Hughes & Hughes Dundalk Manager said, ‘This is a great day for everyone in the Hughes & Hughes family and especially for people associated with the store here in Dundalk.  All eight of us are book enthusiasts and we are looking forward to sharing our knowledge and passion for books with our customers once again.’

The re-opened Dundalk store is still located at Clanbrassil Street, covers 3,200 sq ft and stocks 20,000 titles. The store offers a large young readers section including titles for pre-school age readers.

The new holding company that owns Hughes & Hughes, Sivota Limited, have now reopened six of the company’s former stores:
- Hughes & Hughes, St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, Dublin 2
- Hughes & Hughes, Pavillions Shopping Centre, Swords, Co. Dublin
- Hughes & Hughes, Omnipark, Santry, Dublin 9
- Hughes & Hughes, Dundrum Shopping Centre, Dublin 14
- Hughes & Hughes, Ennis, Co. Clare
- Hughes & Hughes, Clanbrassil Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

The O’Brien Press has confirmed that those who have vouchers for their Kellogg’s Storytime books can redeem the books in the re-opened Hughes & Hughes bookstores.

The promotion had been endangered when Hughes & Hughes went into receivership in February 2010. However, five stores have re-opened under the Hughes & Hughes branding but under the ownership of Sivota, a new company backed by Bus Stop newsagents owner, Pierce Moloney.

Writing on the company blog O’Brien Press MD, Ivan O’Brien said:

we are delighted that the Hughes & Hughes shops in Santry, Ennis, Dundrum and Swords have re-opened, and they they will redeem your vouchers for books — or you can send the form, tokens and €1.50 per book to Kellogg’s Storytime Promotion, PO Box 9922, Dublin 15.

Eason now operate the former Hughes & Hughes Dublin and Cork airport stores as well as their Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire location.

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.

David Maybury who visited the store this lunchtime and took the image, that the Hughes & Hughes store in Stephen’s Green is trading and has new stock.

It has been a busy month for Irish Publishing News. So busy we didn’t get a round up post out so here, as a monthly digest, it is! To celebrate the iPad launch in the UK and the forthcoming launch here in July we’ve added a rather nice image from Flickr User Jesus Belzunce.

Lots more to come in June!

Debut novelist Shirley Benton Bailey has signed a three book deal with Poolbeg.

The first of the three books, Looking For Leon, will be published in spring 2011 and Benton Bailey is already working on her second manuscript.

The deal was brokered by relatively new agents Prizeman & Kinsella.

Four Hughes & Hughes stores have re-opened and another two are set to follow in the coming weeks, saving around 60 jobs.

In an exclusive interview Chief Executive Derek Hughes tells Irish Publishing News about the firm’s strategy, its relationship with suppliers and its intention to honour former customers’ gift and loyalty cards.

Sivota Ltd, a company set up by Pierce Moloney who owns the Bus Stop newsagent chain, is the new owner of Hughes and Hughes.

In an interview, conducted by email, Mr Hughes said that the ‘Strategy going forward is less centralised without central distribution with store managers having a much stronger input into buying. The range will be more local and the focus will on our strengths customer service and knowledgeable committed staff.’

Mr Hughes said that Andrew Waters will be responsible for central buying in the new company – a role he held before Hughes & Hughes entered receivership.

‘The range will be more local and the focus will on our strengths customer service and knowledgeable committed Staff,’ Mr Hughes said.

The bookseller said ‘suppliers are conscious that a monopoly is not good for anyone.’

Mr Hughes has been pleased by customer reaction, which he says ‘has being extremely positive’ with many expressing ‘genuine delight we are back’.

He said the Hughes & Hughes ‘brand has stood up very well as customers and the public understood that the downturn has been so severe and with high rents and upward only reviews bookshops and many retailers could not survive unless rents came down to match the new business environment.’

Mr Hughes highlighted their intention ‘to honour all the Hughes & Hughes gift & loyalty cards, which will be costly but we realise not to do so would damage the brand.’

The new Hughes & Hughes owners, Sivota Ltd, will reopen the Hughes & Hughes St Stephen’s Green bookshop next Monday after reaching agreement with the landlord despite what Hughes & Hughes CEO Derek Hughes has called “strong competition from Eason”.

When it opens the St Stephen’s Green store will be the fifth of a hoped for six bookshops to reopen under the new Hughes & Hughes. The other four reopened shops are Swords, Santry, Dundrum, and Ennis. The sixth location has yet to be agreed.

The Hughes & Hughes bookstore in The Dundrum Town Centre has reopened. Staff at the Dundrum Centre confirmed that the store was open and is trading from the ground floor of the old Hughes unit which is located by the Snow and Rock store.

According to the Hughes & Hughes website, Sivota Ltd, a company formed in April, have ‘purchased some of the assets of the former Hughes & Hughes Ltd.’

Dundrum is the first of the chain to reopen, it is not clear yet how many of the old chain will resume trading.

More news as we get it!

Hughes & Hughes was officially placed in liquidation at a creditors meeting in Dublin yesterday with Kieran Wallace of KPMG appointed as liquidator.

The Irish Times carries a full report:

Employees (who are ranked as preferential creditors) are owed €250,000, while employment-related taxes of €148,000 are also due. Almost €560,000 is owed in local authority rates.

More than €6.4 million is owed to the chain’s numerous unsecured creditors. Within this category, the Dublin Airport Authority – the former landlord of the chain’s outlets in the capital’s airport – is one of the largest creditors, being owed almost €690,000.

The largest unsecured creditors include many well-known book publishers and distributors. Penguin Books Ltd is owed more than €300,000; Harper Collins more than €256,000; and Eason Menzies Distribution in excess of €296,000. Independent book wholesaler Argosy is due about €150,000.

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