{"id":105438,"date":"2025-03-05T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=105438"},"modified":"2025-03-05T13:44:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T13:44:55","slug":"harpercollins-unveils-robroyston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/harpercollins-unveils-robroyston\/","title":{"rendered":"Harpercollins Unveils Cutting-Edge Robroyston Hub to Handle 110 Million Books"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>HarperCollins has inaugurated a state-of-the-art distribution centre and office complex in Glasgow, marking a significant investment in the city where it was originally founded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>550,000 sq <\/strong>ft facility in Robroyston will employ 400 people and manage the distribution of around 110 million books a year. The new site, launched on <strong>World Book Day<\/strong>, reinforces HarperCollins\u2019 commitment to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/empty-homes-crisis-in-scotland\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"100717\">Scotland<\/a>\u2019s literary and publishing heritage.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The unveiling event, attended by authors, politicians, and business leaders, also highlighted wider concerns over declining children&#8217;s reading rates, with HarperCollins calling for greater government support to address the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">HarperCollins: A Major Logistics and Publishing Hub<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Robroyston facility represents a key logistical centre for <a href=\"https:\/\/harpercollins.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HarperCollins\u2019 UK<\/a> and global operations. According to the company, the site is designed to handle up to three million books per week at peak times, with more than <strong>56,000 titles<\/strong> stored across<strong> 220,000 locations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The publisher has incorporated an advanced KNAPP logistics automation system, which will streamline the movement and processing of books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The site is also home to HarperCollins\u2019 education and reference division, Collins, which produces dictionaries, atlases, language learning resources, and children\u2019s non-fiction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its cartography team will continue to publish walking guides and the<strong> Times Atlas of the World<\/strong>, while also supplying mapping data to governments, militaries, and technology firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to logistics and publishing, the facility will house teams from finance, human resources, and customer services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A significant part of the site will also be dedicated to the HarperCollins Archive, preserving first editions, original artwork, and documents related to literary icons such as<strong> Agatha Christie<\/strong>, J.R.R. Tolkien, and A.A. Milne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Call to Address Children\u2019s Reading Crisis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>During the launch event, Charlie Redmayne, CEO of HarperCollins UK, highlighted the<strong> \u00a311 billion<\/strong> contribution of the publishing sector to the UK economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, he also raised concerns over the declining rates of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/one-million-children-in-the-uk-at-risk\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"103392\">children <\/a>reading for pleasure, citing research indicating that fewer than 25% of children frequently engage in reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is a problem for <strong>publishers<\/strong>\u2014children who don\u2019t grow up loving reading become adults who don\u2019t love reading\u2014but also for the country,\u201d Redmayne stated. He urged the government to take action by introducing story time in schools and ensuring primary school libraries are well-stocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To support this initiative, HarperCollins has partnered with Glasgow Life to donate 50 children\u2019s books to every primary school in the city. The new site also reflects a commitment to sustainability, featuring solar panels, high-efficiency insulation, LED lighting, and electric vehicle charging points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Culture Secretary<strong> Angus Robertson <\/strong>welcomed the investment, describing it as a boost to Scotland\u2019s economy and creative industries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill emphasised the site\u2019s role in promoting Scotland\u2019s literary tradition and ensuring future generations continue to engage with books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HarperCollins remains the second-largest consumer book publisher in the world, operating in 15 countries and publishing <strong>10,000 new books<\/strong> annually. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new chapter begins for HarperCollins as it unveils a vast distribution centre in Robroyston, capable of handling 110 million books annually. The facility will support the publisher\u2019s logistics, education, and heritage divisions, while also highlighting concerns over declining reading rates. With a call for action from industry leaders, the event showcased both opportunity and urgency. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":105440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105438"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105445,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105438\/revisions\/105445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}