Why the bookshop on Corn Street is still here after 40 years
Online shopping should have closed it twice. Instead, Corn Street Books has had its best year since 2008. The owners explain how.
Tom Ridley
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6 min read
Saturday afternoon at Corn Street Books.
Margaret and Ken Lowe bought Corn Street Books in 1986, when it was mostly maps and second-hand paperbacks. It has survived two recessions, a flood and the arrival of internet shopping.
The secret, Margaret says, is knowing the town. They order in books for the reading groups, stock the local history society’s pamphlets and hold a spare copy of every GCSE set text for students who’ve lost theirs.
‘We’ll never be the cheapest,’ says Ken. ‘But we’ll always know what you liked last time.’
About the writer
Tom Ridley
Deputy editor, business
Covers the high street, the council and anyone opening, closing or moving a shop. Grew up above his parents’ newsagent on Bridge Street.
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