On Tuesday Powell’s Books laid off 31 staffers, or approximately 7 percent of its unionized work force, at its stores in Burnside and Beaverton and two industrial warehouses, a move they cite as a response to the “unprecedented, rapidly changing nature of the book industry.” In a statement Powell’s cited “changing consumer behavior” – namely, the rise in e-book sales – as causing a significant impact over the past three years, along with “an industry-wide decline in new book sales, rising healthcare costs, and the economy.” President Emily Powell stated “I feel it is critical to make some very difficult […]
Bookstores
Briefs: National Festival Expands, Bristol Palin Writes, Kindle Gets Page Numbers, and More
The National Book Festival, held annually on Washington, DC’s National Mall, will expand to a two-day event this year, convening September 24 and 25. The Library of Congress says “the added day will let us plan for at least 90 authors over the entire weekend.” The media found a preliminary metadata posting on Amazon for a memoir by Bristol Palin, set for publication by William Morrow on June 21. It was listed as a $25 hardcover. Amazon removed the listing, but the cached version is still viewable (for now). In separate Amazon-related news, the famously customer-centric is finally giving in […]
Wiley to Write off $9M in Bad Debt From Borders
Wiley won’t report its 3rd quarter earnings until March 10, but today the publisher stated they will write off a pre-tax bad debt expense of approximately $9m (or $6m after-tax) from Borders. According to the SEC filing, “This net charge represents the difference between Wiley’s outstanding receivable with Borders and our expectation of potential offsets and recoveries in the future, and existing reserves for this customer.” Wiley stopped shipping books to Borders in December, when the retailer first indicated it would delay paying vendors, and as such Wiley further states that “no additional charge or bad debt expense with respect […]
People
John Evans of DIESEL Bookstores in California and Matt Norcross of McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petosky, Michigan have been nominated to join the ABA board for three-year terms, and Ken White of San Francisco State University Bookstore has been put up for a second term. Becky Anderson of Anderson’s Bookshops will take over from Michael Tucker as ABA president and Steve Bercu of BookPeople will serve as vice president/secretary. Gonzalo Ferreyra will join Weldon Owen in San Francisco as director of marketing, print and digital on February 14. Previously, he was vp of sales at VIZ Media and director […]
Bookstore News
Diane Cox has bought Whittier, CA’s The Little Old Bookshop and will reopen it this week as Half Off Books. Item Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse in La Cañada Flintridge, Calif., will re-open Monday in an expanded location. The store will have an Espresso Book Machine and host events.La Canada Online But The Muses Bookstore in Morganton, NC is closing after 40 years, calling the rise of ereading the “last nail” in the coffin. Item And Seattle bookshop Twice Sold Tales will relinquish its store in the city’s University District and sell books exclusively online.Seattle P-I
WSJ Puts Borders Bankruptcy On Slightly Slower Timetable Than Bloomberg
A quick headline and then a brief story moved by Bloomberg right before the end of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday had an outsized impact. Bloomberg wrote that Borders “may file” for bankruptcy protection “as soon as next week, according to three people familiar with the matter.” In the final 10 minutes or so of trading, the market slammed Borders shares down 35 percent, to less than 50 cents a share, continuing to fall further still in after-market trading. This morning shares were trading under 37 cents a share. On the same timetable, Barnes & Noble […]