It’s 10:00 am in the city of Chester, England, and 39-year-old Richard Newton begins by opening the doors, hooking up the music, and starts re-stocking from the night before. The first hour can be slow, but then it pipes up for the next two to three hours. Starting his career in banking and finance, Richard always had ambitions to become his own boss of a small bookshop.
“When the grey hairs started to set in, I decided enough was enough. I’m going to pursue what I always wanted to do – open a bookshop.”
The recently opened ‘Bookingham Palace – Vinyl Richie’, has never had more demand for stock. “There is something soulful and intimate about vinyl, as a physical tangible object,” said Richard Newton.
In an era of music streaming, you would have imagined vinyl was destined to become extinct or a regular at your local car boot sale.
Fortunately, you’d be wrong. Vinyl records are outselling CDs for the first time since the 1980s. According to figures released by Digital Entertainment and Retail Association, UK record sales have been rising steadily for the past 15 years reaching £116.8 million in 2022. Next to CDs at £98.3 million - that's almost 16% more.
In 2016, Richard secured a plot in the recently closed Chester Forum Market. Starting with “only 60 books to sell and a six-foot market stall” he slowly grew his business within the first few weeks.
“I used to pay £5 per day for the stall, but after a few weeks I had 11 of them. To which later expanded into a whole square. I loved it because I had more shelves for the books, and a section to start selling my vinyl”
‘Bookingham Palace’ was part of the forum market for seven years until it was time to move into the new Northgate Chester Market. Due to a conflict of interest with the new plans, Richard decided it was time to relocate onto the high street.
“When choosing a new location, I had 4 pillars. The amount of space, location, cost, but also the feel was very important to me. The architecture had to feel like it was meant for a bookshop,” he said.
Now situated on 98 Northgate Street, Richard has seen a “massive increase in turnover, which has helped increase the quality of stock”
Richard acquires his goods in large quantities with various types of books, vinyl and comics included. He often prices them for less than they sell for online, while that could be viewed as anti-business. It’s important to him to maintain a loyal customer base.
“I’ve always been an honest trader; I’ve always known being honest is the best way to build your business. One wrong move and your business is shot”
He continued: “I only ever wanted to go into mediums that stood the test of time. Take the Amazon Kindle, for example; at one point they were all the rage, but now physical books are selling more than ever. The fad seems to have worn off. I’ve got every confidence that vinyl will be more popular in ten years than they’re now.”
“There is something calming when you go inside the shop. I forget where I am for 10 minutes. I don’t always leave with something, but it’s fun just to browse and enjoy the environment,” says Martin, who frequents the shop often.
The best-selling LPs of 2022 were composed by Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. Younger artists are driving sales up among young adults as they collect for the aesthetic of owning a physical record.
“The craziest experience I’ve had so far is one day, a 96-year-old bought ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon, then later that day a 6-year-old came in for the same record. It really demonstrated how music has no age bracket,” says Richard.
Every artist is someone’s favourite artist, but there are some artists who keep the top spots for years.
He continued: “We sell all the usual suspects like Arctic Monkeys, Elton John, ABBA, Oasis, and Fleetwood Mac but you soon realise other artists go back into rotation.”
A recently added comic graphic novel section, and famous authors coming to autograph their books later this summer. Richard isn’t short of new ideas to keep his shop relevant.
“I’m looking to open a second shop in Liverpool or Manchester. My business end goal is to have a small chain and become an area manager who drops in from time to time."
As a reader and a listener, Richard shared his own opinions on the best artists and authors of all time. Rating Ed Sheeran as the “most overrated artist this century” and pleading with everyone to read Lord of the Rings “cover to cover” at least once in their lifetime.
‘Bookingham Palace – Vinyl Richie’ welcomes everyone from pro-vinyl collectors and novice book readers to first-time collectors. If you feel like you need a pop culture injection, then drop into Northgate Street and say Hi to Richard for me.
WOW! 😯