Nelson shop’s award speaks volumes
Small, local and curated does the trick for Nelson independent bookshop Volume, which has been named New Zealand’s best bookshop.
The Church St store got the industry’s seal of approval during the annual Book Trade Industry Awards last weekend, winning New Zealand Bookshop of the Year.
Owners Stella Chrysostomou and Thomas Koed opened Volume just under two years ago, and Koed said they were ‘‘very pleased’’ with the recognition.
‘‘[Volume] was an experiment to see if the kind of bookshop we wanted to run could work in Nelson, one where the stock is highly curated and where people find interesting books that they may not otherwise find.
‘‘We don’t do a lot of the massmarket books, because [customers] can get them elsewhere. We also import books that nobody else has. It’s a mix from all over the world.
‘‘It’s interesting that this new model of bookshops is one that is getting recognition; [it’s] a way forward for community bookshops.’’
Koed said that in a retail environment increasingly under threat from offshore internet retailers, the ‘‘age of the high street ‘book supermarket’ is dead’’.
‘‘Nobody can compete with the internet retailers on their terms. But really, people would rather have a place they can go to and feel welcome, where they can engage with someone who really knows what they are doing, and where they can enjoy not only finding what they were looking for but finding things that they didn’t even know that they were looking for.’’
The judges were impressed by Volume’s small size and curated stock, saying they selected it for its minimalist decor, the owners’ combined experience of more than 30 years, and their customer engagement, both online and in the shop. ‘‘They’re not trying to compete with the digital giants for book business [and] . . . they’re comfortable and focused on being small.’’
The award, sponsored by Nielsen Book Data, is hotly contested each year by bookshops throughout the country, and recognises excellence and innovation in bookselling.
Volume was also recently awarded the people’s choice award for 2018 New Zealand Provincial Retailer of the Year at Retail New Zealand’s Retail Hotlist Awards.