Letters
The book trade
Sir: In his article 'Foiling Foyles' (17 July), Richard West takes a gratuitous swipe at W.H.Smith. He seems to be one of the small band of authors who take the lofty view that the only books which should have space on a bookseller's shelves are 'what one might call literature'. He disparages books which are 'as seen on TV' and demonstrates his lack of observation by commenting that those are 'most of the books'. If he had looked around him he would have seen books on a wide range of subjects: to inform, to instruct, to enter- tain.
I am glad he did notice that books are sometimes not on the same floor as cards and games, for he observed our policy to create, where possible, a book department with a quieter atmosphere for browsing; but over two thirds of our shops are on one floor only. He takes us to task for not sell- ing Johnson's works at Litchfield (sic) — constructive criticism on which we will act.
W.H.Smith is not a monopoly, nor do we dominate the sale of books. W.H.Smith has 340 shops, whereas there are over 2,000 members of the Booksellers' Association. W.H.Smith is the only multiple retailer which has consistently made the effort to stock a wide range of books, and order any not in stock, in high street locations. We have received much praise and encourage- ment for what we are doing from the public and publishers and we go on making changes to improve our service — such as currently widening the range of 'what one might call literature'.
We welcome constructive criticism, for we are determined to remain the best booksellers in the high streets of Britain. Simon Hornby
Chairman, W.H.Smith, Strand House, 10 New Fetter Lane, London EC4
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