Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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The Children’s Bookshop to close in November

The Children’s Bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Beecroft will close at the end of November. The shop opened in 1971 and has been owned by Paul Macdonald for the last 15 years.

In a Facebook post, Macdonald said rising costs have left him no choice but to close. The shop will continue to run its schools business, as well as The Children’s Bookshop Speakers’ Agency.

Macdonald told the Sydney Morning Herald the costs of running the shop, including rent, have risen significantly over the past 15 years, while the average price of a book has fallen.

He added that changing shopping practices mean that customers visit the store without spending money. ‘People are using retail space as a showroom to explore purchasing options and more and more are shopping online without being aware of the consequences,’ Macdonald said.

Despite a rising population in Beecroft due to the development of high-rise apartment towers, Macdonald said the shop has lost its clientele. ‘Business has suffered as a result of the changing demographics. I think there are less families.’

According to the Facebook post, the Beecroft shop will remain operational until the end of 2019, and the schools business and speakers’ agency will move to a new premises in Glebe in Sydney’s inner west.

The Children’s Bookshop is the latest Sydney bookshop to announce its closure, following closures of North Shore shops The Lindfield Bookshop and Pages & Pages.

 

Category: Junior Local news