Amazon to close online book shop 12 years after acquiring business

Global retail giant Amazon is set to close Book Depository 12 years after it acquired the Gloucester business.

The company was formed in 2004 by Stuart Felton and former Amazon employee Andrew Crawford.

The news emerged just days after Amazon announced it was going to “eliminate” a number of positions across its Devices and Books business.

The Book Depository was originally a rival of Amazon and was launched with the mantra of selling quality titles.

At the time of the acquisition there were fears the deal would lead to Amazon dominating the UK’s online book trade.

According to the trade magazine the Bookseller, an email sent out to customers announced the online business will be closing and people will not be able to place orders after April 26.

Andy Chart, head of vendor management, said:  “Over the coming weeks we will complete a winding down of the business, including discontinuing our listings as a marketplace seller and closing our website.

“I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you, from everyone at Book Depository and our book-loving customers, for your supportive partnership over the years in helping us to make printed books more accessible to readers around the world.”

In January Amazon announced plans to make 18,000 staff redundant across its business.

And last month it announced a further 9,000 job cuts in its cloud services and advertising divisions.

In a message to staff chief executive Andy Jassy blamed “uncertain economic conditions” for the job losses.

He added: “This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term.”

It is not clear how many people at the Book Depository will lose their jobs.