The family-owned bookseller Foyles slipped back into the red in 2017 as it counted the cost of higher business rates as well as flooding in its London flagship store.
Foyles said the business rates revaluation had added £70,000 to its running costs while it was forced to close its Charing Cross Road store for several days during the school holidays because of electrical damage caused by sprinklers flooding the basement.
The number of shoppers visiting its stores declined after the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, the company said as it posted a loss of £88,791 for the year to 30 June 2017. Sales, however, increased by 6.4% to £26.6m.
“As a London centric business the impact of heightened security issues last year, plus the increase in business rates, have in the short term impacted us,” said Paul Currie, the chief executive of Foyles.
“We did, however, enjoy our best trading performance at Christmas in the history of the company, giving us comfort that there is continuing strength in traditional book retailing, in what is a very competitive market place.”
The 115-year-old business, which is controlled by its Monaco based chairman, Christopher Foyle, also pushed through significant behind-the scenes changes during the period, said Currie.
He said: “We continue on our mission to focus on service in our stores, and efficiencies within our logistics and procurement processes. Much of this investment we have made will take full effect in the current and subsequent years.”
Foyles moved its Charing Cross Road branch in 2014 to the former St Martin’s School of Art building, just a few doors up. Currie said the store continued to perform well in its new location. It will feature on the silver screen later this month in the film adaptation of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
In January, larger rival Waterstones said pre-tax profits increased from £9.9m to £18m in the year to 29 April 2017. It pointed to cost savings and a shift away from selling low-margin academic course books into more profitable products such as stationery and toys. Its sales were flat at £404m.
