Looking back on 2025, it has been without doubt the most challenging year of my life — and also the most rewarding. For a long time, I’ve held two competing dreams — running a small, welcoming bookstore, and building a meaningful business that creates opportunities for ambitious, talented people while making a positive difference in the lives of as many customers as possible.
While it still feels early, and like any business Book Hero’s future is never guaranteed, 2025 is the year those two dreams began to feel like they could coexist.
From Doing It All to Letting Go
This time last year, we took turns working alone over the Christmas/New Year break — opening Pick Ups, shipping orders, and responding to customer emails. I remember we were closed on Boxing Day, but I went into work anyway, overwhelmed at the thought of orders piling up and being solely responsible for fulfilling them. I’m pretty good at some things — but fulfilling orders quickly, sadly I am not.
Boxing Day this year looked very different. I spent a sunny afternoon at a BBQ with friends, while some of the team returned on the 29th and successfully shipped close to 1,000 orders without me. Having a team that genuinely says, “Dylan, take a break!” and means it, is something I don’t take for granted.
Growth by Design, Not Accident
Against a tough economic backdrop, Book Hero’s growth in 2025 has been significant — and deliberate. With our first Christmas and initial months of trading behind us, we set clear goals — more books on the website, more stock in the warehouse, and more capable people on the team.
One of the most important decisions early in the year was convincing my friend Alastair to join Book Hero full-time. Previously generously helping with all manner of things behind the scenes, his decision to pause medical school gave him the chance to contribute fully — and he hasn’t looked back. From integrating supplier and publisher data, designing our new warehouse layout, and rebuilding our warehouse management software from the ground up, his impact has been transformational. (The fact he’s also become a recurring star of our social media videos was an unexpected bonus — who knew he was a theatre kid!?)
We’re happy to report that people do indeed still buy physical books in 2025!
Stock, Scale and a New Warehouse
Supporting our growth also meant dramatically increasing our stock holding, led by Tim and later Shirl. With millions of books available and very little historical sales data to rely on, deciding what to stock, and in what quantities, is no small challenge. Both combine excellent taste in books with disciplined, data-led decision-making, always guided by what customers are telling us through their words and purchasing patterns.
We quickly outgrew our first warehouse, and with pallets of books already on the water and nowhere to put them, we were forced into a rapid move to Rawiri Place — the space we now proudly call home.
In true Book Hero fashion, there were about 30 days between deciding to move and shipping our first order from the new warehouse. Finding the building, signing the lease, designing the layout, and moving 40,000 books happened at breakneck speed, thanks to a core team of six and a dozen or so incredible friends and family who helped make it happen.
While the move itself ran smoothly — a testament to Alastair’s meticulous planning — the month surrounding it was personally intense. Early lease exits, legal negotiations, new racking, fit-outs, systems, and the financial commitment of filling the shelves added real pressure and a lot of sleepless nights. It was a risk, but six months on, it’s clear it was the right decision. Once again, the team made something difficult look possible — and at times, I felt like nothing more than a lucky passenger on a runaway train.
Moving into our new warehouse was essential for achieving our growth targets
Watching People Grow
One of the things I’m most proud of this year is the personal growth I’ve seen — not just in myself and the senior team, but especially among our youngest team members. Watching confidence build and responsibility expand has been incredibly rewarding for me.
Some of the brilliant people who make Book Hero what it is today
A special mention goes to Marnie, who joined us less than a year ago as a shy, introverted 21-year-old unsure of her abilities. Just nine months later, she’s training new team members, confidently handing over bookshop and customer service responsibilities, and managing our bookkeeping — working directly with suppliers and our accountant and taking a significant load off my plate, far more diligently than I ever could.
We also have Dom — still a teenager — who can single-handedly ship over 120 orders an hour, all while keeping the warehouse upbeat with his excellent taste in music. Cam, Siobhan and Jordan have taken our warehouse operations to a new level, processing thousands of books in and out each day while consistently delivering on our “ship it today” promise.
Nicola does a fantastic job of keeping our customers informed and entertained through thoughtful and creative email and social content, and our growing team of part-time and casual staff — Hannah, James, Lizzy, Eve, Zac, Amy and Che — have all impressed me with how readily they’ve stepped into a fast-moving, sometimes chaotic environment, tackled whatever was needed, and delivered the same five-star service that Book Hero’s reputation is built on.
While Tim, Alastair, Shirl and I all brought leadership experience from Mighty Ape, Book Hero has been different. It’s just us. We’re responsible for everything — purchasing, cashflow management, website availability, payroll, HR, IRD payments, onboarding staff, and yes, making sure we don’t run out of coffee, milk, and biscuits. As the business grows, the job keeps changing, and we’re learning constantly.
Community, Creativity, and New Ideas
Other highlights from 2025 include watching Shirl take our book sales to the next level, and alongside Nicola welcoming so many wonderful authors into Book Hero for signings and special events. Not every town has a community bookstore, so being able to host authors and connect readers through in-store events and social media feels meaningful.
Nicola and Shirl have done a fantastic job connecting authors to our online community of Book Hero customers
I’m also incredibly proud of the in-store events Sacha has brought to life — especially our Christmas Bookshop Day, which was a joyful celebration for children and families.
Our in-store events have been a memorable highlight of 2025
It’s also been exciting to watch Tim introduce new product lines, with his enthusiasm for puzzles becoming a particular highlight. Visiting Holdson to see puzzles being made was unforgettable, and I’m looking forward to supporting Tim as we expand our range in 2026, building on the trust of over 50,000 customers who now choose Book Hero as their go-to place to shop online.
Tim has led the charge on expanding our range in 2025 with more to come in the New Year!
Building for the Long Term
I’m incredibly proud of what Alastair has achieved with our warehouse and the software that powers it. Books are a low-margin product, which means efficiency is critical if we want to invest in our people, our bookshop, events, and the basics like rent and power.
Moving away from off-the-shelf systems toward software of our own design has already seen results. By combining 15 years of logistics and eCommerce experience with his programming skills, Alastair has enabled the team to process orders significantly faster — and he’s quick to remind me he’s only getting started. These efficiencies allow us to reinvest in growth, new services such as same-day Evening Express Delivery (which he championed) while keeping book prices affordable for customers.
Alastair and Tim are an effective combination — getting systems working quickly, then making them scale
Looking Ahead to 2026
As we move into 2026, my focus is on sustainable growth and continuing to support our team to build a company and service we’re all proud of. Book Hero has grown from zero customers to over 55,000 in just 14 months, with over 160,000 books moving through our warehouse — 60,000 of those in the past two months alone.
We’ve all worked long, intense hours and asked a lot of ourselves and each other, and I wouldn’t change any of it. But in 2026, the focus will be on sustaining that effort — with more support and training, clearer ownership and responsibilities, fewer last-minute scrambles, and less reliance on heroic efforts from a small number of people.
I’m so proud of our growing team and can’t wait to see what we achieve together in 2026
Like many on the team, I’ve felt the intensity of this year. So as we look ahead, we’ll focus on spreading the load and growing in a way that’s sustainable — without losing the momentum, ambition, and care that got us here. Expect more books, more events, an improved website and maybe even some new product-lines…
Thank You
None of this would exist without our customers. Every order, recommendation, bookstore visit, and word-of-mouth mention has helped shape what Book Hero is becoming. We know many of you have chosen to back us deliberately — to support an independent business, to shop locally, and to tell friends and family about us — and that support means more than I can properly express.
Whether you’ve placed one order or many, visited the bookshop, attended an event, or simply shared our name with someone who loves books, you’ve played a part in getting us here. We don’t take that trust for granted, and we’re incredibly grateful for it.
Thank you for backing Book Hero, believing in our team and being part of our story. We’re only here because of you — and we can’t wait to keep building this together in 2026.
