Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Independent bookstores worldwide

RevenueBase identified 1,323 independent bookstores worldwide as of September 2026 and tracks 18,312 professional contacts across them, including 3,127 with verified work emails. The United States is the largest market and Paris the largest hub.

This list covers independent bookstores worldwide, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 20, 2026. Country and city lists for independent bookstores follow the table.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.

How to read this list HQ checked on every row RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row Refreshed Sep 20, 2026 86% judged on-target in blind review
1,323Companies
18,312Contacts tracked
3,127Verified emails
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The 25 largest independent bookstores worldwide

Ranked by team size
Top 25 of 1,323 independent bookstores worldwide, ranked by team size, largest first. Data refreshed Sep 20, 2026. RevenueBase Smart Search rates how each company's information relates to independent bookstores: strong evidence (its own description names it), partial (names part of it), indirect (matched on the rest of its profile rather than the description shown). Click a contact count to view that company's people.
#CompanyRevenueBase Smart SearchHeadquartersEmployeesContacts
1Indirect evidenceToronto, ON, CanadaHQ checked Sep 20, 20261,001-5,0004,562 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Indigo is a physical and digital place inspired by and filled with books, ideas, beautifully designed lifestyle products, and the creative people who help make it all happen.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
2Indirect evidenceBirmingham, AL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 20265,001-10,0002,011 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Books-A-Million, Inc, is the second-largest book retailer in the nation, operating more than 200 stores in 32 states and online at Booksamillion.com.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
3Indirect evidenceDallas, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 20261,001-5,0001,110 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Be fair to customers and our employees, promote literacy, be kind to the environment and remain financially viable so we may continue.”, Our Mission Statement in the words of HPB…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
4Indirect evidenceJohannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 20, 2026501-1,000547 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Exclusive Books has a rich history - a colourful past of peaceful protest, fascinating stories and a family of staff, all boasting eclectic and wide-ranging knowledge.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
5Indirect evidenceRichlands, AustraliaHQ checked Sep 20, 2026501-1,000301 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Founded in Queensland in the late 1800s, QBD Books is Australia's largest specialty book retailer, proudly Australian-owned and operated.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
6Partial evidencePortland, OR, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026501-1,000295 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Powell's is an independent bookseller serving Portland, Oregon, since 1971, with four store locations.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
7Indirect evidenceBucharest, RomaniaHQ checked Sep 20, 2026501-1,000264 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“De 25 ani, Cărturești redefinește așteptările pe care le avem de la o librărie.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
8Indirect evidenceNorwayHQ checked Sep 20, 20261,001-5,000220 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“I 2020 feiret Norli hele 130 år som bokhandelkjede.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
9Indirect evidenceMexico City, MexicoHQ checked Sep 20, 2026201-500220 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Actualmente Librerías El Sótano cuenta con once sucursales ubicadas en la Ciudad De México, Guadalajara, León, Querétaro y Puebla.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
10Indirect evidenceTourcoing, FranceHQ checked Sep 20, 2026501-1,000197 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Furet du Nord fait partie du Groupe NOSOLI regroupant les librairies Furet du Nord et Decitre.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
11Indirect evidenceParis, FranceHQ checked Sep 20, 2026501-1,000174 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Enseigne historique du quartier latin à Paris, Gibert Joseph est aujourd'hui la première librairie de France.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
12Indirect evidenceSan Isidro, ArgentinaHQ checked Sep 20, 2026201-500156 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Cúspide es una compañía con 54 años de historia en el mercado editorial.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
13Indirect evidencePraha, Czech RepublicHQ checked Sep 20, 2026501-1,000148 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Vítejte v KNIHY DOBROVSKÝ.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
14Indirect evidenceLyon, FranceHQ checked Sep 20, 2026201-500144 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Fondé en 1907 à lyon, notre enseigne est le 1er groupe-libraire indépendant multi-enseignes présent sur l'ensemble des canaux de distribution du livre, sous tous ses formats : 11…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
15Strong evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-50134 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Green Apple Books is a trio of independent bookstores in San Francisco.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
16Partial evidenceSan Francisco, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-200130 contacts →

Partial evidence

Independently owned and operated bookseller with 11 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
17Indirect evidenceNew York, NY, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026201-500129 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“86 Years and 18 Miles of Books and Counting: The History of Strand Books Where it all began: Bound by a Family The Strand was born in 1927 over on Fourth Avenue on what was then…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
18Indirect evidenceBordeaux, FranceHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-200113 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Première librairie indépendante de France.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
19Partial evidenceBrooklyn, NY, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-50111 contacts →

Partial evidence

“We believe that bookstores are essential to a healthy culture.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
20Partial evidenceUnited StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026201-500106 contacts →

Partial evidence

“The Midwest's Premiere Independent Bookseller for 26 years!”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
21Indirect evidenceMexicoHQ checked Sep 20, 2026201-500106 contacts →

Indirect evidence

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
22Partial evidenceLondon, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-20081 contacts →

Partial evidence

“London's iconic independent bookshop.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
23Indirect evidenceBratislava, SlovakiaHQ checked Sep 20, 2026501-1,00080 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Sieť kníhkupectiev Panta Rhei je lídrom na slovenskom knižnom trhu a vytvára zážitky a sprostredkováva vzdelanie prostredníctvom kníh.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
24Indirect evidenceNorwayHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-20078 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Akademika er Norges ledende fagbokhandelkjede og en av landets største importører av fagbøker.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
25Strong evidenceCoral Gables, FL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-20073 contacts →

Strong evidence

“An independent bookstore based in Miami, with nearly an author event everyday, with locations in Coral Gables, Miami Beach, The Bal Harbour Shops, Miami International Airport, and…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026

Showing 25 of 1,323 independent bookstores worldwide

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Independent bookstores worldwide at a glance

As of Sep 20, 2026
17.1%Verified-email coverage
13.8Average contacts per company
1-10Median size (employees)
1.4%Largest-city concentration · Paris
Sep 20, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10
906
11-50
273
51-200
68
201-500
24
501-1,000
12
1,001-5,000
7
5,001-10,000
2
10001+
1

Email recency is reported on each country list linked below.

How this list was built

Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among independent bookstores, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.

Source
The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
Coverage
Every country. Country and city lists for independent bookstores are linked below.
What qualifies
Companies worldwide whose own description of what they do matches “independent bookstores”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
RevenueBase Smart Search
RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names independent bookstores), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
What we exclude
Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among independent bookstores, and records with no verified work email.
Match quality
In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and its RevenueBase Smart Search rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
Ranking
Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
Verification
Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 3,127 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
Refresh
This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 20, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
Corrections
Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.

Independent bookstores by location

4 lists · largest first

Every Independent bookstores list RevenueBase publishes, by country and city. Counts are matching companies in each list as of its own refresh date.

Countries

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase Smart Search?

RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names independent bookstores, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.

How many independent bookstores are there worldwide?

RevenueBase identified 1,323 independent bookstores worldwide as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.

What is the largest company on this list?

Indigo, headquartered in Toronto, tops this list with the largest team on record.

Which country has the most independent bookstores?

The United States leads with 531 companies, followed by France (118) and the United Kingdom (88). Every independent bookstores list by country and city is linked on this page.

Which city has the most independent bookstores?

Paris leads with 19 headquartered companies, followed by New York (18) and London (15).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 3,127 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 1,323 companies.

How current is this list?

The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 20, 2026.

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About this data

RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase Smart Search, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.