At least, that was the feeling of some shire residents this week.

An Angus & Robertson franchisee, Lyn Brown, of Batemans Bay, declined to comment on mismanagement rumours except to say she was “unsurprised”.

“I didn’t use my common sense and get out but you could see there were problems because they were trying to get cash flow,” she said.

Established 130 years ago, Angus & Robertson is Australia’s largest book retailer with 103 directly owned stores and 61 franchised stores located in every state and territory.

“We’ve been in Batemans Bay for 18 years and we have another store in Orange, which our son runs,” Ms Brown said.

“We’ve been franchisees for 30 years.”

The Angus & Robertson Company is owned by REDgroup Retail Pty Ltd, which in turn is owned by an American company called PEP.

“We’re a tiny cog in a huge wheel,” Ms Brown said.

While Angus & Robertson, according to Ms Brown, is a profitable arm of the company, Borders Australia Pty Ltd, also owned by REDgroup, is not.

“Borders is the problem, not Angus & Robertson,” she said.

As a franchisee, Ms Brown remains optimistic about the future.

“We have had hundreds of our customers express concern about what the collapse of the parent company would mean, but as a franchise, we own the stock, we own the store and we will keep offering a comprehensive range of books and the highest level of customer service,” she said.

“No matter what happens with Angus & Robertson Company stores, Angus & Robertson in Batemans Bay will continue to have a huge variety of books in stock and will continue to reward our loyal customers. We have experienced staff as well as two local trainees, and quite a few juniors still attending local schools. We have trained many young people over the years and are proud of them all.

“It is too early to know the full impact of it all but I can assure our customers that ... we have been here a long time and we are going to be here a long time.”

Ms Brown is also confident that Angus & Robertson Company, being a profitable arm of REDgroup Pty Ltd, will be sold and continue to operate.

“It happened back in the ‘80s. Angus & Robertson was owned by music label Brashs, who went into receivership. To pay debts the administrators traded Angus & Robertson,” Ms Brown said.

Franchisees pay a fee to Angus & Robertson Company to use their name, their buying power, and their advertising.

“So we’re totally independent of them except for those three things,” Ms Brown said.

Commenting on speculation books were under threat from eBooks and internet sales Ms Brown said regional figures were “insignificant”.

“Only two per cent of books sales are eBooks and, while internet sales are somewhat more, it’s still insignificant,” she said.

“If you go to Sydney, those figures increase because the customers are young and savvy, but our customers don’t like to shop online. Our average customer according to surveys is virtually me, a 60-year-old woman.

“It wouldn’t matter what our store was called, we’ve got exceptional staff, we’re in a good centre, we support a lot of local charities. People will support us because we support them.”