Bloomsbury, the publisher of Harry Potter, reports record sales amid a reading boom

on Jun 16, 2022

Bloomsbury has declared a record year in sales, claiming that the surge in reading during the epidemic was "permanent" when lockdowns were lifted.

When homebound clients switched to new activities, such as reading, to pass the time, the corporation gained greatly from Covid restrictions.

Nigel Newton, chief executive of Bloomsbury, said it was evident that people who picked up a reading habit during the epidemic were continuing to buy books, helping to boost yearly sales by 24 percent to record highs of £230 million for the year to the end of February.

"Everyone's concern was on whether the pandemic increase in reading would persist." "We now know the answer: reading has become a rediscovered habit that is thriving," Newton remarked as the company released its yearly statistics.

"The spike in reading, which seemed to be one of the only rays of light in the pandemic's darkest days, may now be revealed as permanent, with the simple act of reading shining light and bringing joy to millions of people."

Bloomsbury reported that customers were taking up novels by Sarah J Maas – the American fantasy author whose works include Crescent City, Throne of Glass, and the A Court of Thorns and Roses series – with sales of her books increasing by 86 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, sales of Harry Potter books increased by 5% in the run-up to the 25th anniversary of the series' debut title, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was released in 1997.

An surge in online learning raised sales of Bloomsbury's academic titles, contributing to a 28 percent increase in pre-tax earnings to £22.2 million.

WH Smith, the books-to-paperclips retailer, also claimed an uptick in sales, citing the resurgence in travel following the lockdowns as a factor in higher sales at its locations in train stations and airports.

It contributed to a jump in group income for the 15 weeks ending June, which it said was higher than in 2019 for the first time since the epidemic began.

WH Smith predicted that its travel section would grow throughout the summer trading period as more customers took advantage of lower limitations on local and international travel.