Latest news with #HarryHartog
Sydney Morning Herald
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘You're screwed', QBD's boss was told. Now he's on track to open 100th bookstore
'[Being] in a shopping centre, I think, gives us an opportunity for [customers] to come and spend 10 minutes with us, and then, if you deliver a great experience, get them to come back,' said Croydon, who is also the author of children's book series The Hyde Park Squirrels, and the coming spy thriller The Turing Protocol. The other great boon for the business has been the rise in the romantasy genre, a combination of romance and fantasy that has exploded in popularity thanks to social media influencers and the success of the wildly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses and Empyrean series. The author of the former, Sarah J. Maas, has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. Loading 'It's been going on for a good 18 months now, but it's strong and a lot of my team members love it,' said Croydon. 'You go into that section, it will be perfectly merchandised because they love that section.' The genre makes up 12 per cent of sales in the industry; at QBD, it's more than 20 per cent. Croydon said the love for the genre was so strong that QBD customers were buying duplicates of their favourite books – one to read, and one to display. 'It's almost like a collectible, which is great news for brick-and-mortar retailers like me,' said Croydon. 'The public are investing, still, in paper, which is great to see.' Women in their early 20s represent one of QBD's biggest customer bases, many of whom have flocked to the new genre. The other key groups are young mothers and middle-aged men. Prices at QBD are generally lower than other book retailers such as Dymocks and Harry Hartog, but Croydon steers clear of the 'discount store' label, as he wants the brand to be defined by the customer experience. 'It's not about the price. We make our pricing decisions, and our decision is to be competitive,' says Croydon. 'We want to surprise our customers … they come into a store like ours when they're expecting to get a decent price, but then they get the same if not better service than they would in a high-end store.' According to IBISWorld, the biggest pressure point on book retailers such as QBD and Dymocks is 'persistent competition from external retailers, including discount department stores and online-only platforms,' which limits the market share brick-and-mortar chains can maintain by selling books at wholesale price. Loading To maintain QBD's market position, the company has rolled out new training programs for staff in an attempt to encourage conversation and recommendations from booksellers to customers. They've also recently invested in a customer tracking system through Kepler Analytics — which anonymously tracks customers' mobile phones to provide data on how many visitors are purchasing and time spent in store. QBD was awarded book retailer of the year at this year's Australian Book Industry Awards.
The Age
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘You're screwed', QBD's boss was told. Now he's on track to open 100th bookstore
'[Being] in a shopping centre, I think, gives us an opportunity for [customers] to come and spend 10 minutes with us, and then, if you deliver a great experience, get them to come back,' said Croydon, who is also the author of children's book series The Hyde Park Squirrels, and the coming spy thriller The Turing Protocol. The other great boon for the business has been the rise in the romantasy genre, a combination of romance and fantasy that has exploded in popularity thanks to social media influencers and the success of the wildly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses and Empyrean series. The author of the former, Sarah J. Maas, has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. Loading 'It's been going on for a good 18 months now, but it's strong and a lot of my team members love it,' said Croydon. 'You go into that section, it will be perfectly merchandised because they love that section.' The genre makes up 12 per cent of sales in the industry; at QBD, it's more than 20 per cent. Croydon said the love for the genre was so strong that QBD customers were buying duplicates of their favourite books – one to read, and one to display. 'It's almost like a collectible, which is great news for brick-and-mortar retailers like me,' said Croydon. 'The public are investing, still, in paper, which is great to see.' Women in their early 20s represent one of QBD's biggest customer bases, many of whom have flocked to the new genre. The other key groups are young mothers and middle-aged men. Prices at QBD are generally lower than other book retailers such as Dymocks and Harry Hartog, but Croydon steers clear of the 'discount store' label, as he wants the brand to be defined by the customer experience. 'It's not about the price. We make our pricing decisions, and our decision is to be competitive,' says Croydon. 'We want to surprise our customers … they come into a store like ours when they're expecting to get a decent price, but then they get the same if not better service than they would in a high-end store.' According to IBISWorld, the biggest pressure point on book retailers such as QBD and Dymocks is 'persistent competition from external retailers, including discount department stores and online-only platforms,' which limits the market share brick-and-mortar chains can maintain by selling books at wholesale price. Loading To maintain QBD's market position, the company has rolled out new training programs for staff in an attempt to encourage conversation and recommendations from booksellers to customers. They've also recently invested in a customer tracking system through Kepler Analytics — which anonymously tracks customers' mobile phones to provide data on how many visitors are purchasing and time spent in store. QBD was awarded book retailer of the year at this year's Australian Book Industry Awards.
