The discourse is once again reckoning all over the internet with a factoid from the PRH-S&S antitrust trial in 2022 that was not an established fact at all. The provocative Substack declaration — “no one buys books” — is based on an exchange during the trial that has been misunderstood from the start. The popular takeaway is a belief that the Department of Justice found that half of the new books published every year sell fewer than 12 copies in a year. But going by the public record, that was never a fact introduced as evidence or supported by documentation […]
Archives for April 2024
Higher Ed Slides at Pearson, Still Forecast to Grow In Second Half
Pearson released a brief first quarter “trading update” in conjunction with the company’s annual meeting. Higher education sales fell 4 percent in the period, “in line with our phasing guidance.” The company advises, “We are pleased with the engagement we are seeing from both students and faculty on our AI study tools. We remain on-track to add this AI feature to more than 40 new titles for the key fall sales season.” This time last year, higher ed sales were down 5 percent. For all of 2023, higher education sales of £855 million were down 3 percent on an underlying […]
People 4/25
Lagardere Publishing Shows Slight Gain, Improvement in the US
Sales inched up at Lagardere Publishing in the first quarter, rising €6 million to €576 million, “thanks in particular to the success of bestsellers in the United Kingdom and the United States.” US sales rose 3.4 percent — after a tough performance a year ago — helped by digital audio, science fiction sales at Orbit, and Liz Cheney’s Oath and Honor. In the UK, where they publish Rebecca Yarros, sales gained 4.8 percent. In France, however, sales dropped 4.8 percent.
WH Smith Continues to Sell Fewer Books
UK-based retailer WH Smith remains “clear and consistent” in their strategy and results, showing a regular modest decline: Sales for the six months ending February 29 of £256 million were down by £10 million (just under 4 percent) and profit of £22 million was down by £2 million. They will be expanding an in-store boutique initiative with Toys ‘R Us, adding 30 store-in-stores by the end of the year, and they continue to make clear that their flexible lease portfolio leaves them willing and able to close locations if they don’t like the terms: “We only renew a lease where […]
Distribution: Frank Miller Presents
Comics publisher Frank Miller Presents will create graphic novels that will be distributed by Abrams’ new Kana imprint, which is led by Abrams ComicArts publisher Rodolphe Lachat.