VP and chief accounting officer Glen Tomaszewski was terminated from his position on September 2, according to an SEC filing last week. The legal battle between Borders and marketing firm Next Jump is not over yet, despite last week’s agreement that Next Jump would take down a website that redirected Borders Rewards customers to its own rewards site, OO.com. Next Jump countered with a suit of its own, Reuters reports, saying Borders allowed Next Jump to transfer customer accounts to OO.com, but then accused the marketing firm of stealing the accounts as a pretext for recovering damages, in essence “duping” […]
Bookselling: Waterstone Plans New Dedicated eReader, Moves to Flat-Rate Discounts; and More
Waterstone’s managing director James Daunt confirmed for BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours that the company will launch a dedicated e-reader in spring 2012 in a strategy “inspired” by BN’s Nook, though he offered no additional details beyond that. “We in Waterstone’s need to offer you a digital reader which is at least as good, and preferably substantially better, than that of our internet rival, and you will have a much better buying experience purchasing your books through us,” Daunt said. He added he would be “disappointed” if Waterstone’s couldn’t come up with a digital offer that would at least […]
Amazon Wins Tentative CA Sales Tax Reprieve, and Free Romney eBook; French Publishers Drop Suit Against Google
On Wednesday night Amazon and California state legislative leaders reached a tentative deal with respect to the state’s new online sales tax law. Under their agreement Amazon would not have to collect sales tax until September 2012, and in return the retailer would drop its referendum campaign to overturn the law, on which they have spent $5 million so far. “It’s a safe harbor for up to a year,” State Assemblyman Charles Calderon told the LAT of the agreement he helped strike. “If they can’t get Congress to act by next July, then they will start to collect the tax […]
Bookselling: BAMM To Close Three Stores
Later on Thursday federal bankruptcy court is set to approve Books-A-Million’s deal to take over 14 store leases from Borders. At the same time, the now-second-largest book retailer is closing stores in Asheville, NC; Florence, SC, and Tupelo, MS by the end of next week. Each of these stores has been open more than 15 years, with approximately 60 people set to lose their jobs. Going out of business sales begin Thursday with books and other merchandise priced at 20 percent off. Citizen-Times SCNow NE MS Daily Journal Antiquarian bookstore Serendipity Books will close its Berkeley, CA shop after nearly […]
People, Etc.
At Penguin, Molly Barton has been promoted to vp, digital publishing and business development and strategy. Earlier this year she was responsible for launching the writing community website Book Country and was also responsible for developing Penguin eSpecials, expanding the publisher’s relationship with Starz, and spearheading Penguin’s enhanced ebook app program. Meagan Stacey has joined Crown as editor, trade paperbacks, reporting to Tina Pohlman. Previously she was an editor at Mariner Books. Project Gutenberg founder Michael S. Hart died September 6 at his home in Urbana, IL. He was 64 and the cause of death was not disclosed. He is […]
Borders Asks For Six-Figure Executive Severance as Next Jump Agrees To Take Down Rewards Site
As Borders winds down business this week, it is contending with final bits of business in federal bankruptcy court. Late last week the company sought permission to pay $125,000 each in severance to former ceo Mike Edwards, former cfo Scott Henry, current evp of store operations (and acting cfo) Jim Frering and head of human resources Rosalind Thompson. Ten other executives already qualify for $125,000 severance payments, according to the filing. Both Edwards and Henry were “voluntarily terminated” on July 29 but Borders said in its motion that the two “continue to work actively on a non-compensated basis to assure […]