However, the need to operate the chain more efficiently was also part of Daunt’s plan and to
achieve this he set about re-organising the company. At the beginning of 2013 the firm’s losses
reached £37.3 million (see Exhibits 7, 8 & 9 for summary financial statements). The managing
director announced that there would be far reaching changes to the way the business was run
which would reduce the number of regional managers needed. Shops would be part of clusters
which meant that fewer regional managers would manage more outlets. In May 2013,
consultation began at local level with over 500 of the company’s managers about changes to the
structure within the stores. General manager, branch manager, assistant manager and deputy
manager posts would all be abolished to be replaced by a single new role of bookshop manager.
7
The change would save money, but more importantly, according to Daunt, it would put the
emphasis on shop-floor selling, engaging with the books and the customers. Many publishers
appeared to welcome the move but Waterstones’ staff were less enthusiastic and by July 2013
more than 60 managers had resigned from the firm rather than go through the process of
applying for the new roles. Some of those interviewed by the Bookseller said they were
disgusted by the process and that the chain was losing many of their most creative and
experienced managers. The new bookshop managers were expected to “prioritise service above
everything else”, “lead the team of booksellers to deliver consistently high levels of service,
expert advice and hand-selling” as well as “provide regular feedback to the shop team”. The
focus on bookselling was also supported by a partnership with the University of Derby to create
the Waterstones Academy which would deliver the UK’s first professional qualification in
bookselling. Daunt’s experience of lecturing at La Scuola Librari Italiani in Italy had given him
the idea to set up the Academy in recognition that many of the attributes needed for bookselling
were graduate-level skills.