Atkins recipe for fat sales at Ottakar's

13 April 2012

THE faddish Atkins diet is the new Harry Potter, if figures out today from bookseller Ottakar's are to be believed.

Although sales of the fifth Harry Potter book were predictably spectacular, the most remarkable growth came from books about the steak, cream and bacon-eating regime that has taken Britain by storm.

Ottakar's finance director Edward Knighton said there had been 'an absolute deluge of requests' for books based on the teachings of dietician Dr Robert Atkins, who died aged 72 earlier this year.

The books, which prescribe a regime of low carbohydrate and high protein intake, were outselling all other non-Potter titles by three to one.

However, the spell of the bespectacled trainee wizard is far from broken. Ottakar's sales of the new Potter book in the 24 hours after the muchhyped midnight launch in June reached 80,000, compared with 20,000 for the fourth title.

It has sold 122,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to date.

The company reported likefor-like sales for the 23 weeks to 12 July up 7.9%. Non-Potter book sales were 5.2% higher.

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