William Dymock opened his first bookstore in Sydney in 1879. Today there are over 75 stores in Australia and 11 in Hong Kong continuing his proud tradition.

The first New Zealand Dymocks store opened in 1994 in Auckland, now there are 7 conveniently located stores offering the widest range tailored to suit the market.

Dymocks owners everywhere have a passion for bookselling. Dymocks staff members have the knowledge and training to help you make the right choices always. With the widest range of new and backlist books, we have the best in New Zealand and overseas writing on hand.

Now as in 1879, Dymocks has more for booklovers.

Dymocks' Heritage

Dymocks is Sydney's greatest bookstore. In 1879, William Dymock began business as a bookseller in a rented room in Market Street. As his business grew, he moved to a larger and grander premises until, in the 1890s, he could claim to have a million books in stock. William Dymock died in his thirty-ninth year and, as he was unmarried and childless, he left the business to his sister Marjory, who was married to John Forsyth. From that time onwards, the Forsyth family has managed Dymocks.

In 1922, the family purchased the site of the old Royal Hotel in George Street and in 1930 the Dymocks building was completed on that site.  By 1980, Dymocks, though still the doyen of Sydney bookstores, was looking and feeling a little shopworn. It would have been very easy for the grand old store to slide into a gradual decline. It was this which decided John Pemberton Curlewis Forsyth, William Dymock's great grandnephew, to take over the company in 1981, selling his own successful printing and publishing business to do so.

John Forsyth, as Chairman of Dymocks Group of Companies, wished to preserve the company's 19th century character, charm and tradition, but he also realised that it would be impossible to live in the past.

He investigated book retailing methods in the U.K., America, Europe and Japan and returned ready to implement retailing concepts which were unheard of in Australia, and only recently introduced overseas.

The historic old store in George Street was completely revamped internally without destroying its old charm. Specially designed gondolas and displays were built, colour corrected lighting was introduced and the most sophisticated computerised customer enquiry service for books in the English speaking world was designed and installed. Additionally, Dymocks established a telephone ordering facility to cater for those customers who are unable to visit the stores to purchase books.

Dymocks had entered the 21st century without discarding more than a century of tradition.

And now, a new chapter in the history of Dymocks is being written. The Dymocks Franchise System.