Harry Potter flys off the shelves in WHSmith
15/07/2005 . Source: Jessica Martin 
WHSmith, the UK's bookseller, has reported that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince flew off the shelves at a rate of 13 per second when 390 of the retailer's stores opened their doors to Harry fans at midnight. Destined to be the biggest book of the year, WHSmith has confirmed this breaks the record set by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which sold eight per second when it launched in 2003. Buy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in the USA - or Buy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in the UK  Rachel Russell, Books Business Unit Director, WHSmith, commented: "It was a magical night, with Harry fans all around the country, from Penzance to Inverness, rushing into our stores to get their copy hot off the shelves. We will be continuing the celebrations today and have already seen more excited fans coming in early today to get their copy - it will certainly be a weekend of reading all over the nation."
After receiving a staggering 1/2 million pre-orders for the book, WHSmith stores around the country reported queues of customers desperate to start reading their copy of the sixth Harry book. WHSmith's official launch party at the store in Wimbledon celebrated with Dumbledore himself entertaining customers who were queuing from late afternoon, whilst Exeter, Glasgow, Bristol, Norwich and Newcastle also report large queues.
Customers can join in further celebrations as many stores will be holding Potter parties with magicians, face painters, balloons and Harry activities to mark what is destined to be the biggest book launch of the year.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the biggest pre-ordered product that WHSmith has sold in its 210-year history.
|
