Dymocks Wellington closure a blow for local publishers

It was announced today that Dymocks' Wellington store had been put into liquidation. Owned by Bruce and Janis Caddy since 2000, this store made a point of supporting local publishers by stocking their books, in marked contrast to Whitcoulls, Borders and Paper Plus. Not only that, it was run by people who took a keen interest in books, again in contrast to the dimwits of the other chains. What is probably even more disturbing - if one of the best bookstores in the country can't survive in these times, what hope is there for bookshops generally? Neither Whitcoulls or Paper Plus come into this category, they are respectively a variety store chain and a domestic stationery chain which happen to sell a limited range of down-market books, that's all.