Harry Pottermania Sweeps WHSmith

SWINDON, England, January 21 /PRNewswire/ -- As the excitement around the launch of the sixth Harry Potter book builds, WHSmith has today announced it will offer customers who pre-order Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince a guaranteed low price of only GBP9.99 (RRP GBP16.99) in its high street stores - currently the cheapest price on the High Street - saving customers GBP7 off the recommended retail price. Customers will be guaranteed this saving if they pre-order before 2 April 2005. Tipped to be the biggest selling book of 2005, customers have already been reserving their copy at WHSmith and initial pre-order sales suggest that the sixth book will outsell the previous book. In 2003 the fifth book in the series, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, flew off the shelves at WHSmith stores at a rate of eight per second. Over 400 WHSmith high street stores will be celebrating the launch of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by opening at midnight on Friday 15 July, enabling customers to join in the celebrations and collect their copy hot off the press when it is released on Saturday 16 July. Commenting on the pre-order launch, Rachel Russell, Books Business Unit Director said: "Harry Potter is a huge phenomenon and the announcement that the penultimate book will be released this year has already sparked a frenzy amongst Potter fans. Having sold more of the previous Harry Potter books than any other retailer, we want to ensure our customers get fantastic value for money and an opportunity to be the first to buy their copy." Notes to editors: - Customers who pre-order Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in a WHSmith high street store will be guaranteed a price of GBP9.99 if their order is placed before 2 April 2005 - Customers will be required to pay a GBP1 deposit when placing a pre-order - WHSmith has 545 high street stores - Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince goes on sale at 00.01am BST on Saturday 16 July 2005 - Over 400 WHSmith high street stores will be opening at midnight on 16 July 2005 to celebrate the launch - Customers who have pre-ordered Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince before 21 January will also receive this guaranteed price - Pre-ordered copies will be held for two weeks after the release date Sarah Hodson, WHSmith Press Office, +44-1793-562545

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