Family-run Topping & Company Booksellers was among the many non-essential retailers forced to close their doors to customers when the pandemic hit in March 2020.
With face-to-face transactions previously making up around 95% of sales, the business was hit hard by the closure of its stores in Ely, Bath, St Andrews and Edinburgh, and the cancellation of their popular literary events and reading groups.
With sales dropping significantly, co-founder Robert Topping and his son, Hugh, decided to take action – selling books over the phone from their homes and improving the company’s website to increase online revenue.
The much-loved retailer also continued to work with authors from across the UK to curate reading lists and collections for visitors to its website, delivering signed copies of the latest fiction and non-fiction books to its loyal base of subscribers every month.
With the support of a £250,000 loan from Lloyds Bank via the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the company was able to continue paying for stock while its stores were closed. And the changes to its business model has enabled the firm to look ahead to the reopening of the retail sector with confidence.
Topping & Company has also used the downtime to invest in plans to open a new store in central Bath. The company believes the 4,000 sq ft premises, due to begin work in March, will be the largest independent bookshop to open in the UK in more than two decades.
Robert Topping, co-founder of Topping & Company Booksellers, said: “The relationship between a community and its independent bookshop is something unique, especially in times of uncertainty.
“While we’re so grateful that our loyal customers have continued to support us through online sales during these hard times, books are all about meeting people and we firmly believe there’s still life in old-fashioned book selling.
“The support we’ve received from Lloyds Bank has left us in a position where we can look ahead with optimism and we’re eager to welcome people back to our stores when restrictions allow.”
