News
Waterstone's 'flexible' rebrand to reclaim the high street
11.05.10 | Victoria Gallagher
Waterstone's new look will be rolled out across 20 stores by autumn. Stores including Picadilly, Deansgate and Nottingham will be among the first to display the new "flexible" logo and tagline "feel every word", which was revealed yesterday (10th May).
Waterstone's said the new branding was part of the retailer's long-term plan to reclaim its place on the high street as a "booklover’s paradise and a champion of great writing". The rebranding was first mooted at parent HMV's investors' conference at the end of March. Managing director Dominic Myers said: "The Waterstone’s brand occupies a special place on the high street." He added: "The new look and logo reflect what a great bookshop should be – alive, inspiring, and in tune with what readers are thinking."
The W of the Waterstone's logo has been designed to be flexible so it can be used in different ways for different genres and stores, for example with varying colours or words within it. The retailer said the tagline, emphasised what was at the heart of Waterstone’s business: "the books themselves". Window displays will focus on the books, with quotes and bold imagery.
The new look was designed by brand agency venturethree and worked on as part of the retailer's standard marketing spend. It is understood that no additional costs were levied. Venturethree worked with focus groups to research the brand.
Shop fronts, bags and uniforms will also change over time, with the first 20 stores the top priority. The timing of the rollout to stores beyond the first 20, will be reviewed once those have been completed, Waterstone's said. The new branding will be also used on consumer advertising.
Comments on this article
By What me cynical?
Yes I'd like to know which lucky 20 will have this thrust upon them. Ooooooo I hope it's us.........can't wait to see if the new uniforms are coloured and come with little paper hats n' hair net combo.12 May 10 00:46
By Smoking Man
Hint: you'll already know if you're one of the top 20 stores. At least I hope your branch manager would have passed the message on. The wording of this article is slightly confusing- all stores are receiving the rebranding. The top 20 stores are receiving refits as well.12 May 10 07:35
By Blah blah blah
Smoking Man, if you know Waterstone's refits as I do, you'll be lucky if they finish more than 10 by Christmas!12 May 10 11:03
By King Putt
Well, I think it's a good thing that Waterstone's are doing and the newly refurbed and rebranded stores will look great on the High Streets and will, hopefully, see a return to book buying from stores rather than online. Positivity, people! If you don't like the company, don't work for them.12 May 10 11:52
By Spy
Re-branding is only a cosmetic thing..... To make a business grow you need to win the heats of the staff to make it work.... They do the selling at the end of the day.... You can paint (put nice new logo) over the cracks as much as you like but the cracks will always be there unless you fill them.....12 May 10 13:22
By ex-lowly bookseller
At the end of the day most people want value for money. You can refurbish as many stores as you like and change branding, uniforms etc... it still doesn't change the fact that most of the experienced, career booksellers no longer work for Waterstones... and that's whats most important. You get better recommendations on Amazon than you ever will in a Waterstone's, plus its cheaper and you don't have to go through the annoying routine of being asked, "have you got a loyalty card?" "would you like this blah blah blah novel for 4.99?" "do you need a bag?" I used to work at Waterstones and so I felt a loyalty to buy my books from there... I just use Amazon now, you can get obscure out of print stuff you would never in a million years get at Waterstone's, plus it's affordable and delivered the next day... The last few months I worked at Waterstones the customer order service was an absolute shambles. I felt embarrassed with the scant information and unreliable timescales I regularly had to communicate to customers. I don't know if that's being changed by Dominic Myers but it should be top of the list, above rebranding and all that superficial nonsense. Just get people the books they want as fast as possible, then people might start using you instead of Amazon.12 May 10 14:25
By Chris Nichol
Absolutely Spy. Couldn't agree more. That's why I think that after the re-brainding exercise they should introduce a sales training programme. To go with the new strapline it could be called 'Get Feeling'. Do you think this would work?12 May 10 14:28
By FFS
Yeah, ex-lowly bookseller, the reviews on Amazon are great, aren't they? Love those ones by Orlando Figes!12 May 10 21:37
By devoto's love child
This is just a typical Simon Fox ruse to try and keep the investors quiet. hmv went lower case a few years ago to "get closer to the customers" and because lower case was more sensitive and in tune with the way their customers were feeling, rubbish! Fox is not a retailer and has little understanding of either the hmv or Waterstone's business. Stop trying daft initiatives (the Studio in HMV Leeds, cinemas, coke fridges etc) and concentrate on getting the core businesses right. This means stop putting buying restrictions in place which prevent stores from ordering core catalogue. Unfortunately while Simon Fox is in place the only way for Waterstone's and HMV is down!13 May 10 08:14
By RobC
Here's hoping Deansgate's refit doesn't involve the loss of yet more shelf space. The pre-Christmas rejig must have lost a good third of stock.13 May 10 10:58
By I've left Waterstone's
I've left Waterstone's (was a lead bookseller) for a new job and I have to say... it feels terrific. Suddenly my life is free of the day-to-day nonsense like linksaves, getting told off for poor 'conversion' by my manager, 'non-negotiables', 'JFDIs', pretending to give a flying fug about 'The Power Of One' (a notion which a Undercover Economist-type would have a field day with), and the nonsense kneejerk responses to regional manager visits. Aaah, it seems like a lifetime away... I will still be checking the Bookseller website every now and again just to remind myself of how unhappy work used to make me feel.14 May 10 21:03
By the seaside, beside the sea
Whoever actually paid the brand agency needs sacking (why do trendy marketing types feel the need to call themselves things like "venturethree" - we have uppercase and spaces for a reason). The new "flexible" logos disolve the brand presense. Does Dominic really think that Waterstones is strong enough brand that the public will associate any randomly styled "W" with the stores? Madness. The company needs to wake up and realise who their competition is, and what advantage they can deliver by being on the hight street - you can't compete with Amazon on price, how about improving service? And that doesn't mean pestering customers with a dozen mandatory questions each time they buy something. I don't work for the company, but I do have close contact with several people who do, and it seems like anyone from store managers to head office are just completely incapeable of sensible thought.15 May 10 00:29
