Why the Irish are best

HB: A survey in the Bookseller last week threw up some interesting data. The survey looked at 6 countries: Britain, America, Ireland, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden. (NB - has anyone else noticed how come Finland always seems to feature in things like this? I think it's going for the Most Surveyed Small Country Award 2008. A deserving winner.) The results can be quickly summarised:

1. The more bookshops discount prices, the lower the growth in the overall market. Hang your heads in shame, America and Britain (the lowest growth, highest discounting markets).
2. The more bookshops discount their wares, the lower the profit margins on the average bookstore. Britain's bookstores are least profitable; Ireland's the most. For every £10 spent in a British store, the lucky storekeeper gets to jingle about 20p in his pocket after all costs but before the taxman's bite. That's not a lot of jingling.

Trouble is, I do see that it's hard for any one bookshop to stem the tide. If Borders does away with promos, then everyone will flock to Waterstones. There needs to be an anti-discounting culture, and it's tough for any one shop to inaugurate that solo. But still. Irish bookstores make two and a half times more profit and grow faster, so you'd have thought that the rewards were there, if only the trade made an effort to try ...