Simpsons of Piccadilly

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Simpsons of Piccadilly, now a branch of the Waterstone's chain of bookshops

Simpsons of Piccadilly is a shop at 203–206 Piccadilly in central London, built as a quality menswear store in 1935–36. It is now a branch of the Waterstone's chain, making it the largest bookshop in the world.

The architect was Joseph Emberton, and Simpson's was the first shop in Britain to have an uninterrupted curved-glass frontage. This new style was made possible by arc-welding a wide-span steel frame, rather than earlier techniques which involved using bulky bolted joints. The interior was designed with rooms conforming to domestic proportions arranged around an open staircase. Straddling two streets, the building has entrances in both Piccadilly and Jermyn Street.

During the early 1970s, Jeremy Lloyd was employed as an assistant at Simpsons, and he drew on his experiences here when he came up with the television sitcom Are You Being Served?.

In 1999, the store was sold to Waterstone's and is now their flagship store. On the top floor is a bar with a good southerly view, over the rooftops towards the Houses of Parliament.