With the rapid expansion of ebook market, the WSJ has a prominent story looking at the corollary of greatest concern in book publishing: to what extent will ebooks push bookstores out of business? (There is a self-reinforcing cycle in which, if rising ebook sales lead to store closings, still fewer print books will sold as result, further propelling ebook market share.) Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio concedes that “the store model is under pressure, whichever way you look at it.” Over the next three or four years, “Riggio says, a different, more diverse Barnes & Noble retail store will […]
Archives for May 2010
Borders Finds Their Extra $25 Million In Financing As LeBow All But Takes Over
When Borders refinanced their revolving credit agreement in March and lined up a new $90 million term loan (at minimum interest of 14.75 percent), they were required to raise at least $25 million in new equity or else that term loan would have its borrowing base reduced by $10 million. This morning the company announced that financier Bennett LeBow, formerly known as as a “corporate raider” and currently chairman of holding company Vector Group, principally a tobacco company with other interests including Douglas Elliman real estate, has purchased $25 million of stock at $2.25 a share through an investment company. […]
Books-A-Million Comp Sales Down 3.6 Percent
Same-store sales fell 3.6 percent at Books-A-Million in their fiscal first quarter, ending May 1, as total sales of $117 million decline one percent. Net income of $2 million was just $100,000 lower than a year ago. CEO Clyde Anderson says, “While we continued to face a challenging sales environment during the period, I’m pleased that our ongoing discipline in cost control and inventory management delivered solid financial results.”Release
People, Etc
Leigh Haber will work for Chronicle Books as an editor-at-large, acquiring and developing at least five books a year and focusing on wellness topics–spiritual, emotional, physical, personal and social–for the publisher’s lifestyle category. Haber will remain based in New Jersey. She is currently a consultant for companies including Blurb, and most recently was executive editor at Rodale. At Grand Central Publishing, Sara Weiss has been promoted to assistant editor. Susan Driscoll will become president and ceo of Wolters Kluwer Health, succeeding Gordon Macomber. In agency news, the Irene Skolnick Literary Agency will work with Lippincott Massie McQuilkin to sell and […]
AAP and BISG Will Finally Join Forces In Search of Improved Industry Stats
After years of compiling separate but equally incomplete publishing industry statistics, the AAP and Book Industry Study Group (BISG) have finally found common ground and will pool their resources in the future. Their goal is “to develop a new data model to track book publishing industry statistics and to dramatically improve our capacity to estimate the size of market sectors and theindustry as a whole.” Over the next few months the two organizations will interview and survey their members and other interested parties to refine their plan. Management Practices, Inc. which has collected data for the AAP for years, will […]
A Wimpy Holiday On the Way
Abrams’ Amulet imprint has announced the fifth volume of Jeff Kinney’s bestselling Wimpy Kid series for a November 9 national laydown. The title won’t be revealed until July, but they have confirmed purple as the color of the new book’s cover. Kinney will sign in the Abrams booth at 11 on Thursday at BEA, and they are giving away wimpy water bottles and bookmarks. Kinney says the new book “is about change and the different ways Greg and his best friend, Rowley, deal with it. To me, this book is the lynchpin in the series, and I’m excited to be […]