Fretting about the state of Barnes & Noble’s bookstores is put into perspective by reports from the UK on the performance of Waterstone’s. A government corporate filing showed just how badly the chain had been suffering. It’s important to underscore that the results everyone is writing about are old–they cover the fiscal year ending almost a year ago, in April 2012. The bookseller had a £25.4 million operating loss, and a £37.3 million after-tax loss. Sales fell 14 percent, down to £410.4 million, and same-store sales dropped 11.1 percent. Managing director James Daunt blamed the result on “what I inherited…. […]
Archives for February 2013
Najafi Companies Sells Off Direct Brands To Mysterious Holding Company
Just one week after a $200 million capital investment in former ICM chairman Jeff Berg’s new agency Resolution was disclosed publicly, Najafi Companies announced Tuesday afternoon that it sold its majority interest in Direct Brands to Pride Tree Holdings “during the last quarter of 2012.” Najafi originally bought Direct Brands, the parent company of Columbia House, Book-of-the-Month Club and other book clubs, from Bertelsmann in July 2008. Then Najafi subsequently purchased DirectGroup France, Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec from Bertelsmann in March 2011. The European entity was not announced as part of the sale to Pride Tree. Curiously, little information is […]
People, Etc.
Kirsten Reach has joined Melville House as an editor. Previously she was at Grand Central. At Canada’s Transatlantic Agency, Samantha J. Haywood and Marie Campbell have become shareholding partners. BISG director of standards and best practices Karen Forster is leaving after more than five years as her family relocates to Berlin. Lisa Ekus will receive the 2012 Outstanding Career award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris later this month. Eileen Harte has joined University Book Store in Seattle as events coordinator. She was working with Helen Harte, Bookseller (ABAA)–her mother’s antiquarian Irish books business–and Barnes & Noble. Former chief marketing officer of the […]
Buzz Books 2013 Shares Pre-Publication Excerpts from Big Spring and Summer Releases
With book discovery and exclusive content in the news today, we serendipitously have an announcement of our own: After last year’s successful experiment, today we are publishing BUZZ BOOKS 2013: Spring/Summer as a free ebook, in multiple versions. The new edition of BUZZ BOOKS–available on all major ebook platforms–presents substantial excerpts from 28 highly anticipated books set for release between March and July. For trade readers, it builds on the ABA’s Winter Institute 8, convening later this month in Kansas City, helping to amplify what has become the unofficial spring/summer launch event. For everyone who can’t make it to WI8, […]
Corporate: Tisch Raised BN Stake to 8.1 Percent; Amazon to Mint Their Own Virtual Money
In an annual SEC filing Tuesday, investor Daniel Tisch disclosed that at some point last year he raised his stake in Barnes & Noble from 5.1 percent (originally disclosed in January 2012) to 8.1 percent, or nearly 4.9 million shares, the holdings he controlled as December 31. Two million shares are registered to Tisch’s personal investment company TowerView, while the rest of the stake is held by Four Partners, another investment company owned by all four Tisch brothers and run by Thomas Tisch, though Daniel Tisch has “sole voting power and sole investment power” over the entire BN holding. Separately, […]
People: Firebrand Acquires Tallent’s eBook Architects, and More
Firebrand Technologies has acquired eBook Architects, the ebook design and production company founded by Joshua Tallent. eBook Architects will continue business as usual from their Austin, TX office, serving their existing customers as well as helping Firebrand to build an “end-to-end service.” Firebrand ceo Fran Toolan says in the announcement, “Working as partners over the last few years, we’ve seen that quality and customer service are the first priorities for Joshua and his team, as they are for ours. Bringing design expertise in-house allows us to fully serve our current and future customers, and furthers our mission of providing services at […]