Gisborne NZ’s leading book buyers, Auckland ranks bottom

Gisborne New Zealand’s leading book buyers, Auckland ranks bottom

5 March 2013 – As New Zealand Book Month kicks off, Gisborne, city of readers, has topped a list compiled by The Warehouse showing the number of books sold in ratio to the region’s population in its 92 stores across the country.

Compiling sales statistics for books sold in The Warehouse stores from the financial year to date, the average amount of books bought per person was calculated. Gisborne, with a population of 22,076 in the East Coast region (2006 Census results, Statistics New Zealand), bought 3.7 times as many books per person in contrast to the New Zealand average!

At the other end of the scale The Warehouse customers in the Auckland Region, with a total population of 1.3 million, bought less than the average New Zealander, with only 0.7 times as many books purchased.

March marks the beginning of NZ Book Month and this is The Warehouse’s second year being involved.

“This is a great initiative and we love being part of anything that gets New Zealanders’ reading more,” said The Warehouse’s Category Manager for Books, Vicki Walker.

“It was a surprise but also fantastic to see Gisborne lead the country in the reading stakes and hopefully this will encourage other regions to get out there and read more too.”

Over 4 million $5 book vouchers will be distributed to Kiwis during New Zealand Book Month and these can be redeemed in store at The Warehouse stores nationwide.

How your region ranked:
1. Gisborne (East Coast region), 3.7 times as many books per person as the New Zealand average (population of 22,076)
2. Southland region, 1.6 times (population of 90,876)
3. JOINT Otago region, 1.4 times (population of 193,803)
Taranaki Region, 1.4 times (population of 104,127)
4. JOINT West Coast Region, 1.3 times (population of 31,326)
Canterbury Region, 1.3 times (population of 521,832)
5. JOINT Marlborough Region, 1.2 times (population of 42,549)
Northland Region, 1.2 times (population of 148,470)
6. Wairarapa Region, 1.1 times (population of 38,610)
7. JOINT Waikato Region, 1 times (population of 382,716)
Manawatu-Wanganui region, 1 times (population of 222,423)
Bay of Plenty region, 1 times (population of 257,379)
8. JOINT Tasman/Nelson region, 0.9 times (population of 87,516)
Wellington region, 0.9 times (population of 448,956)
9. Hawkes Bay region, 0.8 times (population of 147,783)
10. Auckland region, 0.7 times (population of 1,303,068)

ENDS

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