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Family bookshop in Beaconsfield closes after 30 years

5:50pm Wednesday 8th February 2012 in Where I Live By Lawrence Dunhill

Image from Google Street View Image from Google Street View

A FAMILY-owned bookshop in Beaconsfield is being liquidated after 30 years trading in the town.

The Beacon Bookshop on Gregories Road has ceased trading after a steady decline in sales in recent years.

The shop is owned by the Morrish family, who liquidators said had “invested a considerable amount of their own money since acquiring the business six years ago”.

Manager Andrew Morrish said: “We have instructed Wilkins Kennedy to act as liquidators as we have been hit badly by the change in the market for paper books.

“We have tried hard to reduce overheads to a level which would allow the business to continue, but it has not been enough and it has been necessary to take the difficult decision to close the shop.”

Four members of staff have lost their jobs as a result of the closure.

The company that operates the bookshop is being placed into liquidation by the Reading office of Wilkins Kennedy.

Proposed liquidator David Tann said: “It is sad to see a long established business like this having to close.

"I would be very interested to hear from any party which may wish to buy the shop or any of its assets, but at present it looks like such a sale is unlikely.”

Comments(15)

JOHNHEALY says...
8:14pm Wed 8 Feb 12

Very sadly the age of the high street bookshop is fast coming to an end due to things like digital printing, the kindle and online booksellers. Let us show some gratitude to the Morrish family for their contribution over the last thirty years.

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motco says...
9:10pm Wed 8 Feb 12

Hear hear to that.

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mumbles26 says...
9:58pm Wed 8 Feb 12

I totally agree John. For me personally, I will always prefer to hold a good old book in my hand than a kindle etc

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BabyBoosh says...
9:08am Thu 9 Feb 12

Very sad - this shop has been there for as long as I can remember - obviously I can only remember back 30 years which is a bit worrying but still very sad to see it go.

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Community Spirit says...
9:26am Thu 9 Feb 12

The BEACON has been extinguished by the chilly wind of change. What will replace it? A coffee shop where folk can sit and read room? A charity shop selling secondhand books? A hairdressers with a load of old magazines? Funny old world, isn't it?

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pennman says...
9:26am Thu 9 Feb 12

Shame it is going as they sold some great local history books. The last time I was in there the stafff treated me like I was something they found under their shoe, and they were always pretty surly, so perhaps poor customer service was partly to blame. I know other people who found the staff pretty grumpy too.

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marlow678 says...
9:37am Thu 9 Feb 12

How could they compete with Charity Shops who get free stock and sell books for £1. End result = 4 more jobless people.

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Amygirl says...
10:45am Thu 9 Feb 12

Sad news but went in there once and had hardly any books. Called in advanced 2 check they had a book I wanted. TOld yes but they didn't. I was also spoken to like crap by the staff. Maybe it was because I don't have a posh voice like her.

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marlow678 says...
10:48am Thu 9 Feb 12

marlow678 wrote:
How could they compete with Charity Shops who get free stock and sell books for £1. End result = 4 more jobless people.
forgot to say Charity Shops also pay no vat or business rates.

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geoffW says...
12:54pm Thu 9 Feb 12

Bookshops are closing at at very rapid rate. The main cause for this is not charity shops, although this does have an effect, especially when times are difficult.
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The main problem is with the supermarket chains and Amazon.
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The supermarkets stock the best sellers and a few others (because they don't want stock sitting on shelves). Bookshops relied on these books bringing people into the shop and then having a browse. One bookseller told me a few years ago that tesco was selling the latest Harry Potter for less than the bookshop could buy it for.
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Amazon can provide most books at discount prices (mainly because they stiff the publishers for massive discounts). We live in an age where people can order from their pc or phone. Unfortunately you can't browse Amazon as easy as you can a shelf of books in a shop.
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Amazon have introduced Kindle, which means that you can download a book onto any tablet, pc or their own kindle book reader. This has caught on in a big way. This means that publishers print fewer physical books and therefore costs are higher. Whilst their costs go up they can't offer better discounts to bookshops.
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Sadly this is the way things are going. Shops that sell small items such as CDs, DVDs, books, etc can no longer compete in the age of internet shopping and digital downloads.

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Voyeur says...
1:29pm Thu 9 Feb 12

@JOHNHEALEY thanks the Morrish family for the past 30 years but the story says they were involved "... since acquiring the business six years ago”. So is it 30 years or 6 years? Sorry to see any bookshop go under though all the same.

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Andreajcs says...
2:12pm Thu 9 Feb 12

I worked part time at the shop for a couple of years, right up until it closed. It was a lovely place to work and one of the things that made it such a great place to work was the customers.

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Scarletto says...
3:36pm Thu 9 Feb 12

Amazed it lasted so long as the big boys have ensured its fate along with similar small bookshops. Sad to see it go. By the way books are often 40pence to £1 at most jumble sales. Bargains galore. Then take them back when you've finished to help the charity involved.

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motco says...
6:56pm Thu 9 Feb 12

Removing the retail price fix on books spelled the beginning of the end for such shops.

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JOHNHEALY says...
11:21am Fri 10 Feb 12

Thank you Voyeur for pointing out the error. What I had really meant to say was "to thank the Morrish family and others for their contributions over the last thirty years". By the way I should point out Voyeur that my name is JOHNHEALY without the extra "e" before the "y".

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