About Waterstone's

Waterstone's mission is to be the leading Bookseller on the High Street and online providing customers the widest choice, great value and expert advice from a team passionate about Bookselling. Waterstone's aims to interest and excite its customers and continually inspire people to read and engage in books.

Now part of HMV Group, Waterstone's first opened in Old Brompton Road, London, in 1982 and currently trades from more than 300 stores, on high streets and in shopping centres, and through numerous university campuses in the UK, Republic of Ireland and continental Europe (Brussels and Amsterdam) as well as on the Isle of Man, Jersey and the Isle of Wight.

No two Waterstone's bookshops are the same. Sophisticated stock management systems ensure that each bookshop has its own unique range profile and space at the front of store to promote a choice of books picked by that branch. These 'Recommends' bays are genuine staff picks.

Our reputation is built upon the knowledge and enthusiasm of our 4,500 booksellers. Our booksellers love great books and are dedicated to finding the titles that our customers want.

We strive to create places where people who are interested in books can go to browse, a place that encourages new readers to expand horizons and that is home to booksellers that are passionate about the books that they sell.

An average sized Waterstone's store merchandises a range of around 30,000 individual books, with 200,000 titles in the largest store. With over one million books in print, and around 120,000 new consumer titles published every year (compared with around 10,000 in the 1950s), the expert recommendations and advice of the company's booksellers are key ingredients in its success.

Waterstone's flagship branch on Piccadilly in London is the biggest bookshop in Europe. With specialist floors concentrating on fiction, academic genres and children's books (among many other subjects) it is a great resource for booklovers everywhere. A great 5th floor bar helps to relax our customers in between heavy bouts of serious browsing. Waterstone's in Gower Street, London, is our flagship academic branch, and Europe's biggest academic book specialist. We have similar superstores throughout the UK, including Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street, Bridlesmith Gate Nottingham, Deansgate Manchester, and Milsom Street in Bath.