Barnes & Noble ceo James Daunt, speaking to inews.co.uk following the release of Waterstones’ results, declares of BN, “We had a pretty awful Christmas over here.” He adds, “But that was because there are parts that I’ve abandoned.” More broadly, he says BN is “as Waterstones was in 2011, which is: not very good bookshops, not looking very nice. It’s a big mess.”
While publishers like Lagardere are investing in games, Germany’s Luebbe is taking a big charge after a misadventure there. The company said it will take an impairment loss of between 12 and 14 million euros against its 51 percent share in computer game maker and distributor Daedalic Entertainment. They blame “a new proprietary development…which was not accepted by the market.” The board is also “examining options for restructuring and realigning the business model in the games segment,” calling it “unsustainable.” As an additional result, “available borrowed capital for further investments is almost exhausted.” But ceo Carel Halff notes, “In contrast, we are very much at peace with the development of our core business, books, audio books and novels.”
Separately, Australian online bookseller Booktopia finally closed a significant investment round. They raised $20 million (AU) through a combination of equity and long-term debt from a consortium led by co-founder of Champ Ventures Su-Ming Wong and founder of JBS Investment John Sampson. Wong will join Booktopia’s board as well.