see what titles are available, and if they are currently in stock. “I believe our customers have faith they can use our website as an adjunct to the physical experience, because people come in knowing that they can see stuff and shop physically rather than digitally at the end of the process,” says Liddelow. Since the 2011 collapse of RedGroup, which owned the Borders and Angus & Robertson chains, there has been a decline in book sales, with the commonly held theory this is due to a rise in e-book sales. But Liddelow says the collapse was a result of the market being over supplied. “You can’t really have a country that is full of these great big box book stores, because the market isn’t as big as people would hope,” he said. Boffins Bookshop is a single store with no plans to expand or franchise. “Our motivation for being here is a love for the product we sell, for the customers, and the relationship. Our target number of stores is one, and to do it well,” he said. According to Liddelow, print books still make up a majority of the market, and sticking to the old basic of great customer service is what sets Boffins apart. “It’s helping people find out what they are interested in, talking to them, engaging, and creating a pleasant environment through your presence. “Customer service to me is really not a passive thing, it’s about the right kind of selling,” he said. Liddelow says Boffins is different to other bookshops in the range of topics it makes available. “We are really about trying to present a range that has depth. You know you’re going to find things at Boffins that you’re not going to find at other book shops,” he says. This article first appeared in Inside Retail PREMIUM issue 2001.