Schuler Books, which owns and operates three stores in Michigan, will acquire Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor, which has been for sale since the beginning of the year. Shelf Awareness reports that under the agreement, the store, which Nicola Rooney acquired in 1995 after four years operating as a Little Professor franchise, “will continue to operate as Nicola’s Books and Rooney will stay on as a consultant during the transition.” Of the sale, Rooney commented: “Joining the family of Schuler bookstores ensures that the future of Nicola’s Books will be in good hands. The familiar faces of our booksellers will […]
Bookstores
More BN Facts, Including the First eBook Settlement Effect
Barnes & Noble filed their annual report with the SEC last Friday, which is full of modest facts of note, highlighted below. Separately, the company also executed a new multi-year contract with BN College ceo Max Roberts, providing a base salary of $850,000, plus a target annual bonus of no less than 1.5 times that salary (and guaranteeing generous “change in control” payments). Not announced officially, Barnes & Noble stores veteran, vp of marketing Patricia Bostelman has left the company. eBook Stimulus Act Perhaps the most newsworthy revelation in the BN’s annual report is the first indication of the impact […]
People
New York’s Book Culture bookstores have reportedly fired 5 of their 30 employees following a vote to unionize earlier this week, the Gothamist reports. The story quotes emails from owner Chris Doeblin they obtained: “It was indicated to me . . . that two people in our mangament [sic] group voted in the union and effectively undermined the interests of the store. The store always being in opposition to the Union. Unfortunately there is no other recourse but to remove these people from our employ effective immediately.” The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union indicates it “has filed an Unfair Labor Practice […]
Barnes & Noble To Spin Off Nook As Public Company; Reports Weak Finish to Fiscal 2014
Barnes & Noble announced before the opening of the stock market Wednesday that it intends to split off its Nook Media division from the retail side, creating two separate, publicly traded companies. Shares rose over 10 percent in early morning trading on the news, up to roughly $22.5 a share. The seeds for such a spin-off were laid in the initial creation of Nook Media LLC (which includes details on how BN stores would display and sell Nook devices follow a possible separation). BN hopes to take the steps necessary to complete the separation by the end of March 2015, […]
Shareholders’ Suit Won’t Block Hastings Sale
At the end of last week, a Texas District Court judge rejected shareholders’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking the proposed buyout of Hastings by National Entertainment Collectibles. The court did not find “a substantial likelihood of success on the merits” for the plaintiffs, though this ruling does not block the shareholders’ lawsuit from going forward. It simply denies any expedited discovery, and means the suit will not prevent the merger from going forward. The court recognizes that “a judgment for money damages is a potential post-merger appraisal remedy.” Ruling
Now You See It–Slight Delay In Silkworm Kindle eBook
JK Rowling’s new mystery THE SILKWORM, published under the pen name Robert Galbraith, went on sale today. Amazon is offering the hardcover, lightly discounted by 10 percent and listed as “usually ships in 1 to 2 months.” (That should effectively give lie to the minor blog meme that Hachette Book Group is unable or unwilling to efficiently supply Amazon with inventory.) But early this morning, Amazon still did not have the Kindle format ebook on sale at all. Social media and the Kindle discussion forum started filling with complaints and questions, since Amazon had previously told customers who pre-ordered Hachette Book Group titles when […]