Before moving to Rye last year I lived for 10 years in Sandwich, a sister Cinque Port located in East Kent.
Along with its medieval charm, one of the reasons I moved there was the plethora of independent shops that were scattered around town, including a beautiful and well stocked Sandwich Bookshop.
Unlike Rye, Sandwich’s biggest employer wasn’t the tourist trade but Pfizer, the large international pharmaceutical company. When Pfizer announced its closure in early 2011, with the loss of 1,500 jobs, it also led to the decline in the number of independent shops that the town could support.
One of the early victims was the Sandwich Bookshop, which closed its doors for the final time in July 2011. The owner Louise Vance said at the time: “Like so many independents before us, the odds have been stacked so far against us that it is now just too hard to compete on such an unlevel playing field. Competing with the likes of Amazon and the supermarkets… has been hard.”
On hearing that the Rye Bookshop is actually owned by Waterstones it set me wondering, will bookshops in small towns only survive if they can call on the financial and marketing power of a larger parent company?
So, having now moved to Rye, the question for me is: do I want my new high street to house a bookshop, independent or not? The answer to that is ‘yes’. I applaud the fact that Waterstones has invested in Rye while at the same time enabling the local manager to stock what shoppers want and therefore supporting, according to Waterstones, Rye’s 'wonderful literary heritage and eclectic tastes'.
I also commend Waterstones for considering the character of the High Street by making sure the shop fits into its fabric. There is no doubt that the Rye Bookshop fits in well – can you say the same for the other national chains located on the high street?
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