Wellington independent Capital Books to close

Capital Books in Wellington, New Zealand, will close at the end of August, reports the Dominion Post.

The store, which has traded for 18 years, is owned by Tim and Glenda Skinner, who told the Dominion Post that the impact of overseas online book sales and ebook developments were the most significant factors in their decision to close the business.

‘People come in to take photos of our books with their iPhones that we have so kindly displayed for them and then they walk out and they buy the same product from a website because it’s cheaper coming from Hong Kong,’ said Tim Skinner. ‘It’s hard to compete with that.’

Unity Books owner Tilly Lloyd said the bookstore’s closure was a loss for the city. ‘Losing Capital Books means that we at Unity will feel significantly “lesser” in both a cultural and community sense,’ she said.

Category: Local news