Online store Book Depository to shut down on Apr 26

SINGAPORE: Popular online store Book Depository on Tuesday (Apr 4) announced it will be closing on Apr 26.

Customers can still place orders until noon BST (7pm, Singapore time) on Apr 26, according to the UK-based book seller's website.

Book Depository will continue to deliver and provide support for orders until Jun 23.

Founded in 2004 by Stuart Felton and former Amazon employee Andrew Crawford, the retailer built a following for its extensive catalogue of over 20 million books, and for free shipping to more than 120 countries including Singapore.

Book Depository's closure follows a series of cutbacks made by parent company Amazon in recent months, with about 27,000 positions eliminated from the tech giant's roughly 300,000-strong workforce.

Amazon chief Andy Jassy said in a note earlier this year that its devices and books businesses would be affected.

The number of employees affected by Book Depository’s closure remains unclear.

British magazine The Bookseller, which reports on the publishing industry, said vendors and publishing partners were informed of Book Depository's closure in an email.

“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,” Andy Chart, head of vendor management, wrote.

“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.”

A note on its website read: "Delivering your favourite reads to you since 2007 has been a pleasure."