MagCulture shop: One week in

With the Christmas rush in full flow and one week of experience under his belt, Jeremy Leslie, creative director of magCulture, gives us the inside line on life as a bricks and mortar magazine shop owner.

Best-selling magazine
Top-seller has been the second issue of Mondial; a gorgeous magazine, brand new, and not many shops stock it. Closely followed by The Ride Journal – more cycling! But also gorgeous, also brand new. Then the latest Riposte… freshness counts! The first mag to sell out was Mushpit, and the highly designed Swiss DJ mag Zweikommasieben has been a surprise success. And has just sold out too!

Strangest request
‘Do you sell drawing pins?’

Favourite moment
So many… when I first got the lease, peeling up the plastic floor tiles to find the original terrazo underneath; getting our moving shelf wall installed and working; opening up and selling our first magazines (thanks Ben!); the first time I looked around and realised the shop was full of people browsing. Every day there’s a new moment.

Best day for sales
Saturday. But it’s too soon to draw hard conclusions yet…

Worst day for sales
… ditto. But yesterday, Friday, was the lowest sales. Everyone was busy with Christmas parties. Each day has been surprisingly consistent though, with only minor variations.

Best time for sales
Lunchtime and early evenings

Worst time for sales
2-3pm

Average time people spend browsing
20 minutes. One person spent over two hours.

Biggest surprise
The range of people that visit, and what they buy. You just can’t tell who will want what.

The thing that’s going to change asap!
The sign above the shop. It’s still the old newsagents sign, which is conceptually neat but leads to the ‘Do you sell drawing pins’ requests. The magCulture sign is on order for the new year.