The Bookspeed Story - How it all began in 1986
How Bookspeed began - an interview with our founders.
As many of our customers will know, Bookspeed was begun back in 1986 by Annie Rhodes and Kingsley Dawson. They had both been part of a book distribution co-op, which offered sales, marketing, and distribution for the wealth of feminist, radical, green, and LGBT publishers that had evolved throughout the preceding decade.
The co-op disbanded in 1986 and they decided to make the move north to Edinburgh to take over the premises. Shortly after, Bookspeed was born!
Annie & Kingsley at Bookspeed 1988
Annie & Kingsley were both committed to establishing a workplace that would reflect their own progressive social attitudes.
Bookspeed’s founding principles
For Annie & Kingsley, Bookspeed should be a place of work where people are comfortable and free from prejudice and fear, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, sexuality, or religious beliefs.
These principles are a lot more prevalent in organisations today but were certainly a progressive and liberal approach to business in the late eighties.
It is a testament to Annie & Kingsley that Bookspeed has some longstanding staff members as part of their now expanding team of Bookspeeders.
An interview with the founders
We spoke to Annie and Kingsley about the company’s beginnings, founding values, challenges, and wins from the past 35 years and what they hope for the future.
As we know, Bookspeed was born from a decision to relocate to Edinburgh but what made you start your own company?
KD: While both of us were working in London, we realised that we would like to have a business together and began exploring various business ideas – in various locations in Scotland and northern England. All options would necessarily involve books in some way, given our joint passion for them – but a straightforward bookselling operation wouldn’t do because it was already covered by friends of ours at a co-operative called Scottish & Northern, an organisation that both of us had also worked for. However, when S&N contacted us over Xmas 1985 to tell us that they had decided to wind up by the following summer – and asked us if we were interested in taking over either or both offices – our answer was immediately positive. It didn’t take us very long to decide that Edinburgh would be the perfect place to live and work together.
We then started to dream up and shape the business that became Bookspeed.
Who or what has shaped who you are, and how do you feel that has fed into starting up Bookspeed?
KD: Books have played a central role in both our lives since our earliest days. The window that books provide onto different worlds, different ways of thinking, different ideas and different people has always been utterly compelling to us. So, aiming to make a living from taking those opportunities to others made, and still makes, perfect sense. We have been very fortunate to have been able to build a business that does this.
What inspired you to launch our business and what was the end goal / has that changed over the years?
KD: We’ve necessarily had to interpret and understand the market in order to sustain our leading role within it, and to respond quickly to business opportunities and threats, while preserving our integrity and profitability. We have both been especially pleased to observe that over the past few years there have been both cultural and commercial developments in the Gift sector that have created appetite and opportunities for an increasing range of more serious book titles.
AR: The themes that found expression in radical publications of the 1960s and 1970s had begun to be assimilated into mainstream publishing by the mid-1980s and some of the larger ‘alternative’ publishers were starting to be stocked by traditional bookshops. We saw a way to increase exposure of these ideas into the trade by offering a fast and efficient wholesale service for these publishers’ books.
What would you say was the biggest win for Bookspeed over the years?
KD: Probably picking up the book supply to the National Trust for Scotland site at Culloden battlefield near Inverness in the early 90s. It was, and remains, a high-profile international destination. Not only did this unlock supply to the rest of the NTS estate for us, but it also served as a fabulous shop front and reference point to give as an example of our work to other potential customers. By working closely with that retailer, we learned so much.
Annie adds - there has been more than one!
Logistically one of the biggest wins was our decision to fulfil all orders the day we received them, with most customers receiving their books the next day, hence the name! Accepted timescales in 1986 for book supply was 2-3 weeks, making our service very attractive. Next day delivery became the norm for the industry in the following years.
In terms of cultural shifts in ideas reflected in publishing, a reduction in political campaigning publications in the 80s saw a rise of interest in personal growth, which in turn led to an explosion of books for Mind, Body, Spirit in the late 80s and 90s. This is a trend we embraced and made another specialisation, along with developing expertise in range creation and supply to the visitor and heritage markets.
Can you tell me about a tough day in your Bookspeed memory and how you overcame that?
KD: In 2004 Annie became very ill and was no longer able to work at Bookspeed at all. Up to that point, we had run the company jointly, with clearly delineated areas of responsibility, reflecting our different strengths and weaknesses. After this time, I had to learn to run the business on my own - with some considerable difficulty and adverse consequences in both a business and personal sense.
There was additionally, of course, figuring out how to navigate the Financial Crash of 2008, which in retrospect was a piece of cake compared to what Lewis had to handle with Covid-19.
AR: In the same year on holiday in 2004, a Bookspeed colleague died unexpectedly. Followed by Annie's sudden loss of balance and hearing, I knew that my working life was never going to be the same again.
What book do you think everyone in the Bookspeed team should read?
KD & AR: Books we have enjoyed recently are:
The Anarchy: William Dalrymple
Not without Laughter: Langston Hughes
A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding: Jackie Copleton
In addition to the above, at least one book by Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and Maya Angelou, as well as What Color is Your Parachute? because every organisation needs the right person in the right role. But if only one book, then Richard Powers’ The Overstory. It’s a great page turner and is about the single most overriding issue of our time.
What is the biggest lesson each of you has learnt so far as entrepreneurs?
KD: If you have a crazy idea, stick with it. Fly it up a flagpole and gauge the response. Always do your market research. You must give equal importance and respect to Blue Sky thinking and tight financial planning and analysis.
Starting a business is essentially ridiculous, and necessarily involves taking big risks. It helps very much to have a business partner whose skills are different from yours – but is on the same page.
AR: The definition of entrepreneur is ‘a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit’. I don’t consider myself an entrepreneur. Profit is vital and I’ve enjoyed the benefits of it but the impetus to start Bookspeed was to get more books into more hands more efficiently.
The biggest lesson – don’t be afraid of making mistakes and delegate work asap to avoid stagnation.
Looking forward, where do you feel there are opportunities for Bookspeed?
KD: Acquiring the central part of the National Trust Enterprises (for the rest of the UK other than Scotland) book supply after 20 years of trying is most significant and will in a way provide a lodestone for further extensive expansion in England in a way that Culloden did nearly 30 years ago for the Scottish market. The National Trust are the largest membership organisation in the UK, with over 5m members & managing 500+ properties throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland & the Isle of Wight. They possess profound cultural and commercial significance, and we will be able to use them as showcases for what we can offer to both the Gift & Destination retail market, which are becoming increasingly adjacent. Building on this alone, our target of £25m annual turnover is well within reach.
AR: The upswing in campaigning and social and environmental awareness is reflected in publications from new and unusual sources. Bookspeed has an opportunity to keep eyes and ears open and seek out unusual or unexpected titles to make our range offer exciting, cutting edge, and ahead of our competitors and copyists.
We can’t wait to share more of The Bookspeed Story with you – watch this space!
