The firm also returned an £18m dividend to its Dublin-based parent company, paid out of accumulated profits

BBC News – Easons announces pre-tax losses of £1.5m.

The trial phase of Eason’s new eStore feature is now finished and the company now has 25 in-store ebook and ereader sections. Several of the stores are in Northern Ireland and the rest in the Republic.

The company is currently selling four ereaders the Elonex 621EB at €99, the  iRiver Cover Story (EB05) at €129, the  iRiver Story HD (EB07) at €149 and  Sony’s Reader PRS-T1 at €149. The devices are displayed on a dedicated shelving section alongside specialized accessories and information about ebooks and how customers can buy and download ebooks.

The spread of prices put the Eason offering in a very competitive position in comparison with the Kindle which is for sale in PC World, Curry’s and Tesco (as reported on IPN last week) for between €109 and €195 depending on the model.

US aggregator, OverDrive, is supplying Easons with the content for the ebook retail side of the operation. Overdrive has been in the Irish market for some time as they supply ebooks to a number of Irish library services.

IPN spoke with Stephen Boylan of Eason and will post details of that interview and discussion of Eason’s ebook strategy next week.

Eason, Ireland’s leading retailer of books, officially unveiled an innovative new children’s experience called The Artemis Project.

The Artemis Project offers children and teens a creative environment where they can explore and interact with some of their favourite characters both old and new.  According to the company the project is specifically designed to encourage children and young teens to read, discover and think.

Special features include a Mr Men wheel, a “Go Fish” wall game, a chill out area where parents can enjoy reading their favourite books with their children and a special teen zone. The teen zone provides a separate, more grown up, space with high seating and a meeting area.

Speaking about the Artemis Project at the launch today, David Field, Head of Marketing & Retail Development for Eason said ‘We are really thrilled with the outcome of this project.  As part of our long term strategy we wanted to create an environment that would allow children and young adults to be excited and engaged by our products and reading.  Our new concept not only delivers on being an exciting new space but tells young people and teens that Eason is the destination for all the latest trends and where you will find the next big thing on shelf before anywhere else. We are committed to creating on trend spaces that are innovative and interactive for both children and young adults in-store and on-line. Eason Dundrum is the first Eason store to host the new look destination for children – The first roll out of this new children’s is part of a major retail development strategy’

The newly designed space which spans across 130 square meters, took inspiration from some of the most recognisable and iconic children’s characters including The BFG, The Gruffalo and the Very Hungry Caterpillar and the newer additions such as Judy Moody, Skulduggery Pleasant and The Hunger Games.

Jamie Healy from Dynamo design studio said. ‘From the start, the team at Eason were sure of one thing, that reading and enjoyment were central to the design. The results are something really special. We drew inspiration from around the world to create this magical space, from the Tate Modern in London to an extraordinary school in Brooklyn.  The colour palate we used is zingy, lively, fun and sure to put a smile on people’s faces – whatever the age.’

Regular author’s events will also be held at The Artemis Project with the next event on 9 November bestselling American author of young-adult novels Maggie Stiefvater will be holding an interactive evening at Artemis including a reading and book signing. Maggie will also be on hand to answers any questions from fans of her books including her latest The Scorpio Races.

The Artemis Project at Eason is now open on Level 3, Dundrum Town Centre.

Also announced at the Irish Book Awards shortlist event yesterday was the ten bookshop shortlist for the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Bookshop of the Year:

Ulster:
Crannog Bookshop, Cavan
Eason Letterkenny

Munster:
The Killarney Bookshop, Killarney
Vibes & Scribes Bookshop, Cork

Connacht:
The Clifden Bookshop, Clifden
Castle Book & Card Centre, Castlebar

Leinster:
Bridge Street Books, Wicklow
Stone House Books, Kilkenny

Greater Dublin:
Rathgar Bookshop, Rathgar
Village Books, Malahide

The winner will be announced at the Awards Dinner on 17th November.

WH Smith is to open a store in the Arnotts department store in Dublin city centre.

The opening will mark the first time the retailer has opened in a location outside of an airport in the republic, although the company does have a high street store in Belfast.

The company’s career site is currently advertising the position of  supervisor for the store.

The store will operate as part of WH SMith’s Travel rather than the high street operation and will open in October 2011.

The Arnotts location puts the store in competition with the Eason’s flagship O’Connell Street branch and the newly opened Hughes & Hughes in the Jervis Street centre.

Eason has announced the addition of four new franchise stores located in Mullingar, Balbriggan, Carlow and Kilkenny.

The Irish book, news and stationary operator opened the first store opened yesterday, 28 July, on Pearce Street in Mullingar.

The company, which has 63 stores (17 are franchise stores trading under the Eason name), says the four new stores combined could create up to 50 new jobs. The firm currently employs over 1,000 people.

Eason has also launched a new franchise drive to recruit individuals and businesses to the Eason franchise model. Once the four new franchise stores are open one third of all Eason’s stores will be franchise operations.

Eason Managing Director Conor Whelan said, ‘Eason is committed to continuing to build and develop a strong Eason Franchising business as part of our broader business strategy.’

Mr Whelan added that the model gives franchisees ‘the opportunity to establish their business as a strong, credible operator and the development of the Franchise Strategy will allow them to benefit from the company’s key digital platforms’.

Local business-man, Pacelli Lynch, who is an existing franchisee in Cavan, opened the new Mullingar store yesterday.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Pacelli said the franchise allows him to expand his business with ‘the comfort and support’ of the Eason business model.

Eason, which has been operating in Ireland for 125 years, has a turnover (excluding its Joint Venture operations) in excess of €200 million.

Eason, the Irish books and stationary chain, has launched a group offers site, EasonOffer.com.

The site offers discounted books to readers, delivered free anywhere in Ireland. Eason has teamed up with Dublin based GruUpy.com to deliver the site.

Today’s offer is for Ryan Tubridy’s JFK in Ireland and offers a remarkable 64% discount on the recommended retail price.

The site previously offered a signed Melissa Hill book and a box set of the Millennium Trilogy.

The site comes after the company reached 7,000 fans on their Eason Book Club page on Facebook.

Puffin Ireland, the children’s and young adult imprint of the Penguin Group in Ireland will be launched today by Robert Dunbar in Eason O’Connell Street.

The launch event celebrates the imprint’s first three titles, Angel Kiss by Laura Jane Cassidy, Friend’s Forever: The Time Spell by Judi Curtain and My Dad Is Ten Years Old by Mark Sullivan.

Based out of the Penguin Ireland offices in Stephen’s Green, Puffin Ireland is headed up by Paddy O’Doherty.

David Maybury ran an interview with Paddy some time ago, it is worth reading here.

Eason has rolled out a new brand campaign as part if the company’s three year 20 million Euro investmnent plan.

The brand campaign “Whatever you’re into, get into Eason” will include an extensive radio, print and TV advertising campaign, PR and online communications.

The new brand campaign forms part of a three-year strategic plan which the company developed following detailed research conducted with consumers, staff and other key stakeholders. The strategy, which will involve a €20million investment programme over three years , also includes store refurbishments and renovations, new category developments and improvements to the website.

David Field, Head of Marketing and Retail Development at Easons said ‘Easons marketing approach has always been tactically driven around key seasons such as Back to School and Christmas. Following research we identified a need to do more to create a connection between the Eason brand and our customers. Our new brand proposition is all about our customers, celebrating the diverse interests that Irish people have and communicating that Easons has something for everyone. We are currently operating in an extremely competitive environment and so establishing strong connections with customers through our brand is crucial.’

Ian Young, MD, Irish International said ‘Easons is one of the great and iconic Irish brands that many people have grown up with. The brand has a strong history and heritage in Irish society and is truly populist, with the ability to reach out to all members of society. The advertising approach is character-driven celebrating the diversity of Easons consumers in a whimsical, humorous and uniquely Irish way underpinned by a direct call to action to ‘get into Eason.’

Easons is operating in Ireland for 125 years and has 60 stores throughout the island of Ireland, employing over 1,000 people.

Eason hosted a celebration of Irish Women’s Fiction at an intimate event on Thursday 31 March, 2011 in Eason O’Connell Street. The event provided readers with the opportunity to meet their favourite female writers.

The event was the first in an “Eason Celebrates….” series of literary events due to take place this year. The “Eason Celebrates…Irish Women’s Fiction” event was headlined by bestselling Irish fiction author, Patricia Scanlan, and was attended by an impressive line-up of 36 of Ireland’s most popular female literary talent.

Attendees included Patricia Scanlan, Cecelia Ahern, Sheila O’Flanagan, Claudia Carroll, Cathy Kelly, Melissa Hill, Deirdre Purcell, Marisa Mackle, Sinead Moriarty, Monica McInerney, Niamh O’Connor, Sarah Webb, Alex Barclay, Tana French, Kate Thompson (full line-up listed below).