Holloway Books
Independent bookshop chain · London, Bath, Norwich
What they look for (Retail & Consumer): Booksellers and store managers who read constantly, recommend confidently, and treat a shop floor as a craft. We hire people who would be happy here for ten years.
What would make you a strong bookseller for a small chain that takes the role seriously?
How a small bookshop chain quietly outperformed the high street
Holloway Books opened its first shop in north London in 2009. Today it runs four shops across London, Bath, and Norwich, employs forty-eight people.
What the shops are actually doing
Each Holloway shop has a manager with significant buying autonomy. The buying choices reflect the neighbourhood the shop is in.
Working the floor
Booksellers are expected to read widely and to handsell — that is, to recommend in person, with conviction, books they have actually read.
Promotion and pay
All four shop managers were promoted from bookseller roles within the chain.
"The shop is the recommendation. Everything else is logistics."