Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Horton Books to close

Melbourne independent bookstore Horton Books will close at the end of July.

The store, which is owned by John and Judy Horton, has been located on Smith Street in Collingwood for 15 years. On its Facebook page, Horton Books wrote: ‘[There are] lots of reasons why we are finishing retail bookselling, but we have absolutely loved being in Collingwood and specifically Smith Street. We have met wonderful people, had wonderful conversations, eaten wonderful meals and will miss all of those things terribly.’

John Horton told the Age that the decision to close was influenced by several factors, including: changing demographics, which brought more people into the area ‘who are not of the generation reading and valuing books’; online shopping; and competition from other forms of entertainment. Horton also observed: ‘People used to come in and furtively photograph title pages and then go and buy the books online, but now they’re quite open about it.’

The store is currently holding a closing down sale with everything priced at 25% off.

 

Category: Local news