Alison Reid and John Evans announced on the Diesel bookstore website that they have sold their store in Brentwood after a lengthy search. Richard and Heather Turner take over ownership on August 1. Reid and Evans “will be on hand for a few more months to smooth the transition.” They add: “We are so excited to work to help them keep the store as good as you’ve come to expect and to take it forward into the future. All of your favorite booksellers will be continuing to work in the store.”
Bookstores
Booktopia Owes Creditors $60 Million; Was Pushed Into Bankruptcy By Credit Card Processor
Booktopia’s bankruptcy administrator told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the retailer owes creditors approximately $60 million (AU). McGrathNicol’s Keith Crawford said, “The vast majority of that debt is actually trade creditor debt, principally the suppliers of books,” who are unsecured creditors. The company has about 150,000 orders worth approximately $12 million that have not been fulfilled, many of those for pre-orders. And customers are holding $3 million in gift cards. The story reveals that the re-financing Booktopia had announced in June was derailed by their credit card processor. Booktopia executive chairman Peter George reports that, “Booktopia’s plans were hijacked in […]
Reisman Says Stepping Back from Indigo CEO Role Was a “Two-Year Misstep”
After a rough pandemic, a cyber attack that shut down digital and in-store operations in 2023, and turnover in its executive ranks, Indigo CEO Heather Reisman noted in a podcast taping that the company has had a “tough four years,” the Canadian Press reports. Reisman stepped back from the company’s CEO role in 2022 and retired last year, a “wrong decision” that she said cost the company $120 million (CA). She said that the pandemic cost Indigo $160 million (CA) in cash, and the combined hit took a toll on the chain. “That’s a lot of money for any retail […]
Booktopia to Remain In Limbo Until Late July or Later
Struggling Australian retailer Booktopia announced that it expects to remain in financial limbo until late July or beyond. After suspending trading of its stock in the middle of June while the company seeks new financing and/or credit as “necessary for the company’s continued financial viability,” the company has been extending its own deadline further and further out. Now, the company tells the Australian Stock Exchange, it does not expect to have news regarding “the additional funding it is seeking” until July 19. The only progress reported is that “due diligence has been undertaken by some of these parties [suppliers and […]
Booktopia Suspends Trading of Its Shares
Struggling Australian online bookseller Booktopia looks to have reached a troubling new stage. Late last week they suspended trading of the company’s stock — which is worth only five cents a share — pending an announcement. But the follow-up announcement earlier this week simply said that trading in their shares would remain suspended, “pending the release of an announcement regarding further outcomes from the previously announced strategic review including its progress in seeking additional funding.” Co-founder, board member and once-again executive Tony Nash told The Guardian Australia, “We’re in motion at the moment, so [an announcement] will be probably more […]
B&N to Purchase Tattered Cover for $1.83 Million
As was rumored last week, Barnes & Noble will buy Tattered Cover bookstore for $1,833,402 in cash, in an offer accepted by Tattered Cover’s owner Bended Page LLC Monday evening. The deal must be approved by bankruptcy court before it is final, and a decision is slated to be made before July 31. B&N will acquire Tattered Cover’s inventory and five locations, which will continue to operate under the Tattered Cover Book Store name. Per the filing with the bankruptcy court, BN “anticipates offering employment to substantially all of Tattered Cover’s current employees,” approximately 70 people, “to continue its events […]