Bookstore Chains Statistics – WordsRated (2024)

US bookstore chains statistics

The biggest bookstore in the United States is with 627 locations across the country.
The bookstore chain currently sits at a revenue of $3.6B annually.
Barnes & Noble has 15,557 employees, with a revenue of $228,369 per employee.
Powell’s City of Books is the largest used and new bookstore in the world, housing approximately one million books.
Powell’s Books revenue is $45.0M as of 2021.
Powell’s Books has 500 employees, revenue per employee is $90,000.
Also known as BAM! Books-A-Million Inc., is a bookstore chain in the United States, operating 260 stores in 32 states
As of 2021 Books-A-Million revenue is $474.1M annually.
Books-A-Million has 5,400 employees, and a revenue of $87,793 per employee.

UK bookstore chains statistics

Waterstones is London’s largest bookshop, and also claims to be the biggest bookstore in Europe containing more than 200,000 titles.
As of 2021 Waterstones registered revenues at $314.05 million from the UK alone.
For the rest of the world, Waterstones recorded $4.58 million revenue.
WHSmith is one of the UK’s leading retail groups and a household name, with over 600 stores on the high street and more than 800+ travel stores at airports, train stations, hospitals, workplaces and motorway services.
WHSmith reported a revenue of approximately £1.4 billion british pounds ($1.71 billion US dollars)
Foyles (also known as W & G Foyle Ltd. ) is a bookseller with a chain of seven stores in the UK.
It has opened several more branches and online stores since 2018 and was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest bookshop and for the number of titles on display.

Australian bookstore chains statistics

Angus & Robertson, which has been a major player in the Australian book industry for over 100 years
In 2001, WHSmith purchased Angus & Robertson.
Angus & Robertson revenue currently sits at $30.5 Million.
Collins Booksellers is an Australian owned private company consisting of 26 franchised bookshops nationwide. All the company’s stores are privately owned, operated locally and community driven.
Collins Booksellers annual revenue varies between $5.0 and $25 million.
Dymocks Adelaide became the largest bookstore in South Australia.
Dymocks Booksellers revenue sits at $109 million.

Canadian bookstore chains statistics

As of 2021 Canada generated a total revenue of over 1.1 billion Canadian dollars ($1 billion US dollars)
Archambault and Renaud-Bray are two of the largest book retailers in Quebec.
Archambault’s revenue is $33 Million and Renaud-Bray’s revenue is $22.7 Million with an online revenue of $45.1m as of 2021.
Over 35 years Book City has operated 7 stores at various locations in Toronto.
Book City’s revenue is $9 Million.

Indian bookstore chains statistics

AH Wheeler has a long history in India with 378 bookstalls, 121 counter tables and 397 trolleys at 258 major stations around the country. AH Wheeler currently has a revenue of approximately $5 million
Crossword, with 80 stores across India, is India’s fastest growing chain of bookstores and with a revenue of $33.4 million.
D.C. Books, operates one of the largest bookstore chains in India with over 45 bookshops under the DC Books and Current Books brands as well as more than 50 agencies.
About 1500 books a year are published by D.C. Books, making it one of the largest literary publishers of India and with a revenue of $122.9 million.

Bookstore Chains FAQ’s

What is the largest bookstore chain?

The biggest bookstore chain is Barnes & Noble, operating 627 retail stores across all 50 U.S. states.

Where is Europe’s largest bookshop?

Europe’s largest bookstore is Waterstones Piccadilly and claims to be the biggest bookstore in Europe. The store is spread over six huge floors which extends to 91,232 sq ft with more than eight miles of shelves, containing more than 200,000 titles.

What is the oldest bookstore in Europe?

The Bertrand Bookstore is the oldest bookstore in Europe. Opened in Portugal in 1732, in Chiado. Since April 2010 has held the Guinness World Record for oldest bookstore still in operation.

Why are bookstores declining?

The decline in used bookstores is due to economic reasons. These reasons are related to the lack of value in used books far more than to rises in rent. Paperback books and discounted hardbacks have nearly eliminated general interest in used books.

What is the future of bookstores?

The market size of the bookstore industry is $9.5 billion as of 2021, an amount that has been decreasing at a 5.7% rate annually. Rising competition from online retailers and an increasing popularity of eBook’s is the main contributor to this decline.