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Blackwell UK
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Bookselling
Wholesale
Founded1879
FounderBenjamin Henry Blackwell
Headquarters
Oxford
,
England, UK
Number of locations
45 stores (2012) [1]
Area served
UK
Key people
Toby Blackwell (Owner)
Trevor Goul-Wheeker (Chairman)
ProductsBooks, Maps
RevenueDecrease £77.02 million (2011) [2]
Increase - £5 million (2011)[2]
Number of employees
1,000 [3][4]
Websitewww.blackwell.co.uk
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Blackwell UK, also known as Blackwell's and Blackwell Group, is a British academic book retailer and library supply service originally founded in 1879 by Benjamin Henry Blackwell,[5] after whom the chain is named. Based in Oxford, the original Broad Street branch is now part of a larger chain of 45 shops, as well as an accounts and library supply service, employing around 1000 staff across all divisions.[3][4]

The Broad street branches, which include specialty music and art/poster shops, remained the only branches until expansion in the early 1990s, when at peak after taking over the Heffers brand in Cambridge in 1999[6] and the James Thin academic chain in Scotland in 2002,[7] the company had over 70 branches.[7] The company's library supply chain serves internationally, but parts were sold off in 2009, with the North American arm of Blackwell Book Services and Australian business James Bennett sold to Baker & Taylor and folded into Baker & Taylor's existing academic library arm, YBP Library Services.[8] The group were also publishers, under the Blackwell publishing brand which published over 800 journals when it was sold to publishers John Wiley & Sons in 2007 for £572 million to form Wiley-Blackwell.[9]

The Blackwell family have been in charge of the company since its foundation, with a share structure divided between voting shares owned by the family and wealth shares owned by family and other parties.[10] However, following a public spat between Julian 'Toby' Blackwell, current owner of the group and Nigel Blackwell, former chairman of the publishing arm in 2002, concerning the possible selling of the publishing business, leading to an offer from Taylor & Francis of £300 million[11] and to the eventual deal with John Wiley & Son in 2006, Nigel Blackwell and Toby's son Philip Blackwell left the business,[12] leaving Toby Blackwell the sole family member still part of running the company. The other voting shares left by the other family members are currently held by a trust, which Toby's shares will transfer to when he dies, eventually bringing an end to the Blackwell family involvement with the company.[13] Toby Blackwell announced in 2009 that the wealth shares would be distributed between staff, transforming the company into an employee-partnership, similar to that of retailer John Lewis, when the company returns to profitability having spent several years experiencing losses.[10][14] The company reported it was expecting to return to profit in 2012.[10]

On 29 October 2012,[15] Blackwells was - with Foyles, John Lewis department stores, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Argos - among the retailers to launch the nook e-reader - and from, November, the nook HD and nook HD+ tablet computers.[16]

  1. ^ "Our Shops". Blackwells Online. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b Campbell, Lisa (26 March 2012). "Revenue drops but losses down at Blackwell". The Bookseller. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  3. ^ a b Finch, Julia (8 September 2010). "Blackwell book chain owner plans to hand firm over to staff". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  4. ^ a b Campbell, Lisa (10 May 2011). "Blackwell cuts 19 from library supply business". The Bookseller. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference fourty was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Blackwell's rationalises Heffers Branches". AllBusiness. 1999. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  7. ^ a b Cave, Andrew (20 April 2002). "Blackwell wins Thin in family feud lull". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  8. ^ Neilan, Catherine (8 December 2009). "Blackwell Sells Library supply arm". The Bookseller. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  9. ^ Osborne, Alistair (18 November 2006). "Blackwell duo bury hatchet as publisher is sold to John Wiley". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  10. ^ a b c Denny, Neill (8 September 2010). "Blackwell's to close head office, as power shifts to staff". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  11. ^ Bowers, Simon (23 January 2002). "Blackwell's journal of disquiet". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  12. ^ Wallows, Harry (20 January 2006). "Blackwell's starts fresh chapter". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference King was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Campbell, Lisa (31 March 2011). "Blackwell Group halves losses within a year". The Bookseller. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  15. ^ Last-minute delay to UK Nook launch, Lisa Campbell, The Bookseller, London.Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  16. ^ Barnes & Noble's Nook HD and HD+ tablets will come to UK in November, Ian Steadman,wired.co.uk, 26 September,2012.Retrieved 8 December 2012.