Opened in April, Barcelona’s new, upscale Llibreria Finestres is a bookstore, its staff says, ‘on a human level. When you walk into Llibreria Finestres, Barcelona’s newest independent bookstore, it’s hard to believe it’s just that, an independent bookshop.

et on an elegant street in the Eixample area, the store is plush, spacious, well-stocked with books in a number of languages. It has an elegant, semi-outdoor café and bar space. And its staff of no fewer than 16 people includes nine experienced booksellers.

It’s clear that this is not just a bookshop. It’s a well-oiled cultural enterprise with very deep pockets.

Finestres—the name means windows in Catalan—was created by Sergi Ferrer-Salat, head of the family-owned pharmaceutical company, Ferrer.

Sergi Ferrer-Salat

Ferrer-Salat is also a philanthropist, and he conceived of Finestres as a “three-prong project,” says Mireya Valencia, one of the store’s managing booksellers. Valencia worked for 11 years at one of Barcelona’s major bookstore chains, La Central, which includes Italy’s Gruppo Feltrinelli as a principal shareholder.

Readmore here: Publishing Perspectives