[10] The company is incorporated in England and Wales as Waterstones Booksellers Ltd, with its registered office at 203–206 Piccadilly, London (which is also the location of its flagship shop).

In 1990 WHSmith took a strong minority stake in the chain, and ten years after its birth, by 1992, Waterstone's had grown to be the largest bookseller group in Europe.

Waterstone was appointed chairman of the group but stood down in 2001, citing "concerns for the way the company was being run",[22] and was replaced by Alan Giles.

In the same year, the booksellers' online operation, Waterstones.co.uk, was franchised to Amazon.com, with the company expressing a desire "to concentrate on its high street and campus shops".

[28] In 2006, Giles stepped down from his position and was replaced by Gerry Johnson as managing director of Waterstones[29] and Simon Fox as group CEO.

Existing direct-to-store deliveries from suppliers were replaced by a centralised warehouse capable of receiving merchandise and sorting an estimated 70 million books per year, and 200 staff were made redundant by the process.

In response to the decline in sales, he implemented a three-year plan in which branches were tailored to their local market alongside a 'rejuvenation'[43] of the company brand and an increase in range.

[49] Further branch closures in Luton, Dorking, Lancaster University, Harrods, Gateshead and Norwich Arcade were completed by the end of 2011.

"[60] In the same month, Waterstones confirmed plans to open a Russian-language bookshop in its Piccadilly branch, intending to stock 5,000 titles, with the shop being entirely staffed by Russian-speaking booksellers.

[62] Following a decision in late 2011 to scrap an e-reading offer in-branch,[63] it was announced in May 2012 that Waterstones would be selling the Amazon Kindle across its estate.

[71] By the end of 2012, the Waterstones estate had shrunk to 288 shops,[72] with "commercial reasons" given for the closure of branches in Bromsgrove,[73] Stevenage,[73] Watford,[72] Fleet Street,[72] High Holborn[72] and Epsom[74] among others, with staff being redeployed where possible.

[75] Started in 2012 was an overhaul of the company's business strategy, with centralised decision-making giving way to shop-based decisions and a renewed emphasis on traditional bookselling techniques.

[76] Waterstones embarked on a major restructuring of staffing levels, with a company-wide consultation with 560 managerial staff to subsequently reduce roles within the company.

[85] Continued business strategy change saw further departures from head office in brand communication and PR[86] and a renewed agency contract for Waterstones' digital marketing with Epiphany.

[97] The company partnered with Oxfam in 2015 to raise £1 million for those impacted by the Syrian civil war crisis through a nationwide campaign called "Buy Books for Syria".

[98] Further changes to shops were made in 2015, with the closure of Wimbledon[99] and Birmingham New Street,[100] the opening of The Rye Bookshop[101] and a return to Welwyn Garden City.

[114] The retailer renewed its partnership with Oxfam to continue to raise money for the Syrian crisis, donating £5 for each "Book of the Month" sold in-shop during November 2016.

[115] Daunt made public his concern that the UK EU referendum was likely to impact on company sales due to an expected retail downturn following a 'no' vote.

[122] In April 2018, hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation bought a majority stake in the company, leaving Alexander Mamut's Lynwood Investments with a minority holding.

[8] This venture included HMV, Dillons and Waterstones (the latter bought from WHSmith for £300 million), combining to make an international entertainment retailer of more than 500 shops.

Through extensive research, they also found that "contrary to widespread perception, Waterstones, like Ottakar's, operates a book-buying system which mixes central and local input on stock selection.

HMV chief executive Alan Giles said: "A combined Waterstones and Ottakar's business will create an exciting, quality bookseller, able to respond better to the increasingly competitive pressures of the retail market."

Ottakar's chairman Philip Dunne said: "Over the last year the book market has undergone a significant change with new levels of competition from the supermarkets and online retailers impacting all specialist booksellers and in particular those with insufficient scale to compete on equal terms.

The shops, in Fleet Street, London Wall, Holborn, Wandsworth, Uxbridge, Finchley Road and Canary Wharf, were rebranded and merged into the Waterstones chain by September 2008.

James Daunt said the purchase would help "to protect and champion the pleasures of real bookshops in the face of Amazon's siren call".

[147][148] Commentators were split on the ethics of the decision to open unbranded shops,[149][150] but it was noted that at no point had attempts been made to hide the connection to the retailer.

[152] Waterstones has worked with the British Safety Council to consider its environmental impact, including factors beyond its carbon footprint.

In response Waterstone managing director James Daunt said the company was "simply not profitable enough" and that "there's a long gap between wanting to do something and it being remotely sensible".

The prize, which has been running since 2012, sees booksellers from across the company select a shortlist of books from any category, published at any time, before the winner is chosen by panel.

[156] Books were chosen from a list of 100 submitted by publishers, and were announced in January 2011 with in-shop and online support, as well as a media campaign for the final 11.