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After a couple of tough holiday seasons, the British book chain Waterstones has high hopes for fourth quarter sales this year.

The firm’s managing director James Daunt told The Guardian that the chain already almost broken even for the year, and a good Christmas season, could push them over the edge, a huge success for the business’ recent history.

The store is not banking on eBook sales to do the trick. In fact, eBook sales are flat among Waterstones customers and the company’s founder has even predicted the end of eBooks in the UK. Instead, the retailer is focusing the in-store experience on tailoring to local tastes.

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Waterstone's has floated the idea of introducing differential book pricing across stores in the UK in its discussions with some publishers.

The chain is considering marketing books at different prices across different branches, according to its type of demographic. The concept is also believed to have been considered by Waterstone's previous management under the HMV Group, before current m.d. James Daunt and Russian owner Alexander Mamut took over in July.

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Waterstone's is thought to be organising the management of its stores into groups of bookshops with similar profiles, following a structure akin to that of Daunt Books.

M.d. James Daunt is thought to be splitting Waterstone's bookshops, which number about 300, into 40 smaller groups, categorising them according to size and the socio-economic status of their customers. Waterstone's is currently organised into large regional blocks, and it is not clear if the physical location of shops will play any part in the new structure.

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Publishers and trade figures have broadly reacted positively towards the scrapping of Waterstone’s 3-for-2 promotion.

As The Bookseller revealed earlier today [31st August], the offer is expected to be scrapped in September and replaced by discount off individual books. It marks the end of arguably the most recognisable book offer, which has been part of Waterstone's for more than a decade.

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Waterstone's is bringing its iconic 3 for 2 offer to an end, with plans to implement money-off deals across individual books.

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Waterstone's is reintroducing central buying for both new books and replenishment but m.d. James Daunt insisted store staff would be able to order the books they want, when they want.

Managing director James Daunt made the announcement to staff in an email this afternoon, seen by The Bookseller. The announcement is understood to have been brought forward because of a story set to appear in the print version of this week's The Bookseller on Friday morning.

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James Daunt's tenure at the helm of Waterstone's is likely to be about "revolution not evolution" as he begins his leadership of the company, according to a source close to the situation.

The new m.d. of the high-street bookseller took control of Waterstone's on Wednesday (29th June), as previous m.d. Dominic Myers exited the company. On the same day, the HMV Group announced the official completion of the sale of the chain to Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut's A&NN Group.

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Waterstone’s today begins its first day under the ownership of Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut’s A&NN Group as previous m.d Dominic Myers officially leaves the bookseller.

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Managing Waterstone's will be a challenge in the current market and its new Russian oligarch owner is not going to support the chain with a large chequebook, the chain's new m.d., James Daunt, has said.

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Waterstone's booksellers are relieved over the chain's acquisition by Alexander Mamut, with one saying: "The staff will be behind [new managing director James Daunt] 100%." Fears remained, however, over possible bookshop closures.

One bookseller said news of the deal was "gratefully received". "There is not total calm yet as everyone is still waiting to see what will happen. While Daunt is a confidence-booster about the future of the stores after a worrying few weeks, we still don't know what will happen when he comes in," he said.

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The takeover of Waterstone's by Alexander Mamut is cause for celebration among the publishing industry, Faber c.e.o. Stephen Page has said.

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