Though 142 new bookshops opened in France last year, low margins and a decline in sales volume as a result of inflation may pose huge risks to the country’s bookselling sector, according to a recent study presented at the French Booksellers Association (SLF) biennial conference in Strasbourg, this year’s UNESCO World Book Capital. The research, conducted by market research firm Xerfi, predicts a significant drop in profitability for small- and medium-sized bookshops.
The number of bookstores in France has remained steady at over 2,500, but many of them are small, putting them at greater risk. According to the study, while large chain stores are expected to maintain a stable profitability of 1.7% in 2025 in the country, medium-sized stores may see a decrease from 1.6% to 0.8%. Small bookshops are projected to face the most severe impact, with an anticipated loss of 1.3%.
"To offset rising costs, booksellers must increase sales by between 5.3% and 8.2% in 2024-2025," SLF VP Amanda Spiegel told the Bookseller. "This appears extremely unlikely to happen because of stagnating readership and a loss of buying power." Spiegel warned that without intervention, most independent bookshops could be operating at a loss within two years.
The French book market has experienced a decline in recent years, with print book sales dropping 3.5% in 2022 and 1.7% in 2023. Although nominal sales increased due to higher prices, they still lagged behind the inflation rate.
Despite these challenges, the bookselling industry in France has shown resilience and even growth in some areas. Martelle noted that bookselling has "without doubt never been as attractive" as it is now. In the past five years, nearly 600 new bookshops have opened across the country, with over half of these establishments located in villages and small towns with populations under 20,000.
Xerfi development director Jeremy Robiolle provided some positive insights, revealing that the failure rate for booksellers is "exceptionally low" compared to other retail sectors. In 2022, only 1.1% of bookshops with at least one employee entered liquidation or receivership, significantly lower than the 2–2.5% rate observed in other retail sectors.
SLF president Anne Martelle called for French publishers to provide a minimum discount of 36% for all small booksellers. Some have already complied with this, including Actes Sud and Editis, but others, including Hachette Livre, have not.
In addition, the SLF has presented two key demands for the French government: maintaining the Culture Pass for young people—which gives a €300 ($350) voucher to 18-year-olds to spend on cultual works, and accounted for 2.6% of bookshop sales last year—and reducing the discount on book sales to libraries from 9% to 5%. This proposed change in library discounts would cost local authorities €6 million annually, but could potentially increase booksellers' margins by 1%.
