Striking a blow for the independents
The Guardian Takes A Look at the world of the small book store. With book giant Waterstone's closing 30 shops, the outlook for the country's independent booksellers isn't as bleak as some had forecast.According to the Booksellers Association, a trade group for retailers, the number of independents has fallen from 1,700 in 2000 to 1,400 today. But that figure now appears to have stabilised. There are an increasing number of small publishers targeting the independents.