Amazon Was Supposed to Kill Off Bookstores. James Daunt Had Other Plans. | Better in Person
Executive Summary
James Daunt and Stephen Dubner discuss local bookseller authority, curation and a long-term approach to reviving Waterstones and Barnes & Noble. Daunt's marketing and management views are drawn from bookselling, not universal rules. Business outcomes and budget figures are his retrospective account. Metadata uses the linked YouTube video, whose September 1 upload predates the September 9 audio page. Topics are untimed. Source: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/amazon-was-supposed-to-kill-the-bookstore-james-daunt-had-other-plans/
Key Takeaways
Give quality time to become visible
Daunt says his first bookshop took roughly five years to become not unsuccessful. He connects that experience with holding to quality rather than maximizing the current moment. Patience is not proof that a weak offer will work; track whether customers are responding while protecting what makes the store worth visiting.
Do not confuse good people with a good system
He says Waterstones' previous central team was capable but was doing the wrong thing by dictating stores in detail. A performance problem can come from the operating model, not only individual ability. Examine what the system asks people to do before concluding they lack talent.
Give local managers real authority
Daunt describes allowing stores to reflect different communities, buildings and booksellers. Local knowledge can guide decisions that a uniform central instruction misses. Make clear which choices managers own and how quality is checked, so authority is more than a slogan.
Make curation useful rather than uniform
Walking through a store, he explains organizing nonfiction by meaningful themes and chronology rather than treating every section identically. The goal is a coherent way for a reader to discover books. Test whether your organization helps a newcomer, not simply whether it is easy to enforce centrally.
Create value in the visit itself
Daunt argues that choosing a book in a good store can add pleasure and commitment to reading it. The physical item may be identical elsewhere, but the experience is different. Identify the value a visit creates without assuming a building alone is enough to make customers return.
Ask for evidence behind habitual marketing spend
He recounts setting Waterstones' central marketing budget to zero and questions spending that continues because people fear stopping. That is his specific approach, not a general case against marketing. Evaluate each line of spend with evidence and account for the work that still promotes the store.
Help new voices reach readers
The discussion treats an unchanging bestseller list as dull and connects excitement with discovering writers. Curation can introduce people to work they would not otherwise find. Balance familiar demand with carefully selected new books, and learn from what readers actually choose.
The Conversation Breakdown
Give quality time to become visible
⏱ Untimed topicDaunt says his first bookshop took roughly five years to become not unsuccessful. He connects that experience with holding to quality rather than maximizing the current moment. Patience is not proof that a weak offer will work; track whether customers are responding while protecting what makes the store worth visiting.
Do not confuse good people with a good system
⏱ Untimed topicHe says Waterstones' previous central team was capable but was doing the wrong thing by dictating stores in detail. A performance problem can come from the operating model, not only individual ability. Examine what the system asks people to do before concluding they lack talent.
Give local managers real authority
⏱ Untimed topicDaunt describes allowing stores to reflect different communities, buildings and booksellers. Local knowledge can guide decisions that a uniform central instruction misses. Make clear which choices managers own and how quality is checked, so authority is more than a slogan.
Make curation useful rather than uniform
⏱ Untimed topicWalking through a store, he explains organizing nonfiction by meaningful themes and chronology rather than treating every section identically. The goal is a coherent way for a reader to discover books. Test whether your organization helps a newcomer, not simply whether it is easy to enforce centrally.
Create value in the visit itself
⏱ Untimed topicDaunt argues that choosing a book in a good store can add pleasure and commitment to reading it. The physical item may be identical elsewhere, but the experience is different. Identify the value a visit creates without assuming a building alone is enough to make customers return.
Ask for evidence behind habitual marketing spend
⏱ Untimed topicHe recounts setting Waterstones' central marketing budget to zero and questions spending that continues because people fear stopping. That is his specific approach, not a general case against marketing. Evaluate each line of spend with evidence and account for the work that still promotes the store.
Help new voices reach readers
⏱ Untimed topicThe discussion treats an unchanging bestseller list as dull and connects excitement with discovering writers. Curation can introduce people to work they would not otherwise find. Balance familiar demand with carefully selected new books, and learn from what readers actually choose.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Local bookseller authority - discussed approach
Let stores make relevant choices for their communities while keeping quality expectations clear.
Long-term quality - guest principle
Protect the medium and long term from decisions that only maximize the present.
Evidence-based spending review - editorial label
Ask what habitual marketing spend achieves instead of assuming either spending or cutting works everywhere.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Identify one central rule that blocks a useful local choice.
- ✓Walk a store or page as a first-time visitor and test its organization.
- ✓Write the evidence supporting one recurring marketing expense.
- ✓Curate one collection that introduces readers to a new voice.
Notable Quotes
“You end up with very boring bookstores because they’re uniform”
“they were actually very good, but they were trying to do the wrong thing.”
“I’ve no idea. They were too frightened not to do it.”
The One Thing to Remember
Let local booksellers make the store worth visiting, then judge decisions over the long term.