QBD Books, Australia’s largest Australian-owned and operated book retailer, are expanding into Coffs Harbour and opening their new store this weekend.

The store will be the only QBD Books store located between the Gold Coast and Newcastle.

The investment in regional Australia reflects QBD Books’ ongoing growth which will bring the total number of QBD Books stores nationally to eighty one.

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CEO of QBD Books, Mr Nicholas Croydon, said QBD’s expansion is bucking the trend of a decline in bricks and mortar bookstores and online shopping with the Book Depository, Amazon and Booktopia.

“In regional Australia we find when we open a bookstore, just like in Hervey Bay, shoppers flock back in store because they had no choice except to buy online.

“People want to talk to someone who loves books and they want to meet like minded people,” Mr Croydon said.

“We visited Park Beach Plaza four times to ensure there was high traffic and it made sense to me that we could do a viable trade there with no other bookstore on site to compete with,” he added.

All the QBD stores are company owned so don’t rely on franchise investment.

Mr Croydon said he hopes to have continued QBD’s expansion by up to one hundred stores by Christmas.

Special guest and award-winning author of ‘The Secrets She Keeps’, Michael Robotham, will be in attendance to officially open the store on Saturday 12 June at 2 pm, and to sign copies of his books.

QBD will also be giving away a limited number of signed advance copies of his new book ‘When You Are Mine’.

QBD Books CEO and well-known children’s author, Nick Croydon, will also be present.

Mr Croydon told News of The Area, “It’s fortuitous that we will have Michael Robotham opening the store in between his events at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival.

“We are lucky to have an A-lister like him so if anyone wants to come and get some Michael Robotham books signed, come down.”

“I am looking forward to coming down there from Brisbane on Saturday and looking forward to seeing all the people of Coffs Harbour and showing them a beautiful new QBD store.

The store will be trading from 9 am – 6 pm and will offer discount vouchers to any book lover who purchases an item on the day.

By Sandra MOON