Career pivot a winning choice
Mandy Myles, of Wānaka-based online retailer Bookety Book Books, has won the Titlepage Bookselling Trailblazer of the year, at the Aotearoa New Zealand Book Industry 2025 awards.
The judges said Ms Myles' initiative, smart thinking and sheer hard work saw her stand out from the other very worthy contenders.
"Mandy has made some bold business decisions that have paid off. She has consciously and self-reflectively learned to work smarter, not harder, as a crucial lesson for long-term success. She has skilfully procured sponsorship and strategically beneficial partnerships, and her marketing and programming skills are among the best in the industry."
Ms Myles said she was honoured to receive the award.
"[I'm] absolutely blown away. It's such an honour to be recognised in an industry packed to the brim with legends."
Ms Myles had the idea for an online store during the Covid lockdown.
Her pivot was completely out of the blue — she had studied fashion and worked in lingerie and fashion retail, including at 47 Frocks in Wānaka.
"I wanted to bring the feeling of community that independent bookstores create directly into people's homes in an effort to make reading feel fun and accessible for everyone."
During lockdown she posted some book recommendations on social media, which sparked questions about where to get them.
Ms Myles was inspired to provide an alternative to major online booksellers, and in August 2020, she launched a curated, sustainably packaged online book range.
She believed reading could be very social. "Books spark such rich conversation, which inherently creates connection, whether you loved a book or not, there's always something to unpack with someone else who's read it. Being able to discuss stories with others is one of the true joys of reading."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
3 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Could Trump's tariffs force NZ to rethink its trade diversity?
Italy got the same deal as us, 15%. The Italian Institute of International Political Studies dug into the numbers and found that the country's agricultural, pharmaceutical, and automotive sectors are likely to be hit the hardest, with the country's GDP projected to dip by 0.2%. On the other hand, the likes of Australia and the UK have secured a 10% tariff. So, how will the duties actually affect Kiwi businesses? Or is it really American consumers who'll pay the price? University of Auckland Emeritus Professor of Law Jane Kelsey told The Front Page it's hard to know the impact. 'It's very hard to be specific about what the consequences would be, and when people put figures on that, you should be quite skeptical. 'Tariffs are kind of blunt instruments, so it will mean that exports from New Zealand imports into the US will have a higher cost for importers in the US and consumers in the US. That could affect how much New Zealand goods they buy,' she said. She said New Zealand has a 'pretty basic export commodity model' and suggests that recent events should serve as a 'wake-up call to start thinking differently' about the diversification of our domestic market. 'There are real opportunities here, and we seem to have an aversion to taking those opportunities. 'It's not simply about diversifying to other markets, but it's also about rethinking our domestic economic model, which is currently based largely on the housing market and secondly on relatively low-value-added exports to a relatively small number of countries. 'But, we have a great difficulty generating that discussion here. There was a Productivity Commission report several years ago, before it was disbanded, that set out a process for diversification, which would thicken our domestic production, and that, unfortunately, seems to have fallen on deaf ears,' she said. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why the World Trade Organisation is 'in chaos'; The erosion of the rules-based trading system over successive US governments; And why it might be a mistake to view Trump's tariffs as purely economic. The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016. You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Otago Daily Times
3 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Tourism, primary sector behind strong Otago economy
The evidence continues to mount that Otago's economy is outperforming the rest of New Zealand. Figures released yesterday by Statistics New Zealand show Otago had the lowest rate of unemployment in the country in the past quarter. Unemployment was 3% in Otago, compared with an average rate of 5.2% across the country. The average national rate of unemployment was 5.1% in the March 2025 quarter and 4.7% in the June 2024 quarter. In contrast, Otago's level of unemployment was only slightly up on the March quarter's 2.7%, and the same as it was at June 2024. Infometrics chief economist Brad Olsen attributed Otago's performance to a strong tourism economy and buoyant primary industries sector. "The fact that the likes of international arrivals into Queenstown are sitting at 150%-160% of pre-pandemic levels ... better than any other international airport in the country — all of that is a real gain. "We know as well that the primary sector more generally is helping and that's going to be supporting the likes of beef, dairy, meat more generally, horticulture." The number of people employed in Otago remained steady at 154,700 compared with the previous quarter of 155,700. In comparison, the number of people employed in Auckland dropped from 994,000 to 984,000. There was enough of a shift in the Otago economy to imply "people think that there are odds-on better opportunities than a year ago in Otago", Mr Olsen said. Business South chief executive Mike Collins said the figures did not totally surprise him, although sometimes Statistics New Zealand information was a bit volatile due to the small sample size. "We're certainly seeing a little more light." Things had quietened down after the period of "crazy demand" for skilled labour, post-Covid, he said. Recruitment had been replaced for employers by more bread-and-butter concerns such as consumer spending and consumer confidence. His organisation was keen to get even more data so they could provide more accurate results and get a better feeling for local trends. "We've always been trying to work out what settings could change to really stimulate more consumer confidence and spend." The ODT has recently also reported Otago's small businesses were finding a way to increase sales while North Island centres went backwards. A small business report by accounting software company Xero showed sales in Wellington and Auckland were down, while Otago was leading the pack with sales up 3.9% year-on-year for the June quarter. Strong commodity prices and soaring food and fibre exports helped power Otago to a strong start to 2025, the province taking the third top spot in ASB's Regional Economic Scoreboard for the March quarter. Mr Olsen said Otago was in the right position economically. "Given where things are sitting at the moment ... you'd be hoping that over time that better labour market then also translates through into spending and confidence, leading to investment to keep momentum going."
Otago Daily Times
12 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Soaring demand sparks change at Invercargill's Total Mobility
Budget blowouts have forced Invercargill City Council to propose changes to its subsidised travel programme for those living with impairments. Total Mobility is a nationwide service that has existed since the 1980s, providing transport options for eligible users. But use of Invercargill's offering has spiked in recent years putting financial strain on the council. A report prepared for a meeting this week said costs were unsustainable with budgets being overspent to the tune of $80,000 - $100,000 every month. The problem began when government increased the trip subsidy to 75% during Covid, prompting some taxi firms to absorb the remaining 25% of the fare. Trip numbers doubled as a result with some patrons taking up to 225 a month. A series of proposed steps aim to address that issue, beginning with a change to operator contracts so that the remaining 25% of the fare is always charged. If that doesn't work, the council will limit the number of trips to 30 per month before dropping the subsidy to 50% - dependent on technological possibility. Council manager strategic asset planning Doug Rodgers said changes would be brought in at three-month staging because time was of the essence. "I'm loathed to make it any longer for the pure reason that we could get six months into this programme without any changes and essentially the bucket will be empty," he said. "And that is a pretty severe impact on the user." Rodgers said a combination of increased subsidy and operators not charging had resulted in a free service: "and who's not going to take that up?" The reason it was hitting ratepayers in the pocket was because the original 50% subsidy was made up of 60% funding from the National Land Transport Fund and 40% from the council. The 25% top-up subsidy from Covid times was funded by the Crown. Steady growth in the service meant the cost to council was forecast to jump from around $1.46 million in 2024/25 to around $2.1m for 2025/26. Elected members shared a range of views during discussion. Councillor Alex Crackett said it was important to find a happy medium or compromise, while Lesley Soper said a partial contribution from users had always been a part of the scheme's equity. Mayor Nobby Clark feared proposed changes could create hardship for people who used the service to access employment, get groceries, attend appointments and go to the pool. The subsidy for each Total Mobility trip is capped at an upper limit which varies between regions. Not all southern users clocked up high trip numbers, with the report saying 63% used the service less than 10 times a month. A back-up plan if technology doesn't support a scaled subsidy approach is to introduce a hard cap of 30 trips per month. A last resort, once all options have been tried, is to bring a report back to committee proposing the subsidy be returned to 50/50 for all trips. Proposed changes are yet to be approved at full council. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
