Connecticut booksellers Fran Keilty, Suzy Staubach, and Annie Philbrick along with ABA and NEIBA staff met a week ago with Connecticut Senate hopeful and current Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Their purpose was to explain to the AG “that they strongly support the agency model for the sale of digital content because it prevents predatory pricing practices by online superstores and allows for a wide diversity of retailers in the marketplace. In addition, they noted that the agency model benefits consumers because it ensures the continued distribution of books by small, independent businesses with a wide variety of viewpoints.” Staubach says […]
Bookstores
Bookselling: BAM Enters Used-Media Market, New Owners in Wellesley, and More
Books-a-Million is preparing to open a new store format shortly under the banner 2nd & Charles in Birmingham, the Birmingham Business Journal report. The company would only say that “details would be revealed later this week.” But the paper’s sources say that the new store will sell used books, movies, music, and computer games.Article The Wellesley Booksmith is being bought from Marshall Smith by area resident Gillian Kohli and her husband Bill Kohli, a portfolio manager at Putnam Investments.Globe Unique Books in Bayonne, NY is closing next month after seven years in business.Jersey Journal
People, Etc.
Joe Scalora has moved over to the Random House Publishing Group’s marketing department as associate manager, working on the Del Rey and Spectra lists, as well as the Star Wars and graphic novel publishing programs. He was a publicist for the group. Former managing director of the UK’s The Friday Project Clare Christian has started a web-based service offering “friendly independent advice on self-publishing.” Edwards Brothers has hired Andrew Pate for the new position of director of digital and program sales, part of their expansion into short-run offset, digital and print-on-demand book and journal manufacturing. Alibris Holdings has renamed itself […]
Barnes & Noble Stock Surges
The stock market in general rose this afternoon after the Federal Reserve said it was “prepared” to act further to support recovery, but Barnes & Noble’s stock outperformed other gainers with a 9.25 percent rise on the day with the contentious annual meeting less than a week away. (By comparison, the Dow Jones Average rose over 7 percent, but the broader S&P 500 actually declined almost 3 percent on the day.) Borders stock also rode the updraft, gaining almost 14.5 percent for the day on unusually high volume of 3 million shares (though at just over a dollar a share, […]
Your Proxy Fight Daily Report
Today Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio added to shareholders’ mailboxes by apologizing for all the mail–and blaming Ron Burkle. “For the past six weeks your mailboxes have been full of letters urging you to vote your shares in favor of the company, or in favor of Mr. Burkle of Yucaipa. They are referred to as ‘fight letters,’ and they often live up to the promise. For myself and the good people of Barnes & Noble it is a fight we did not ask for, and do not deserve.” The company also points to their endorsement by another small proxy […]
Biggest Proxy Firm Supports Burkle Nominees to Barnes & Noble Board
Perhaps the most-watched proxy advisory Institutional Shareholder Services broke ranks this morning with two other firms in supporting Ron Burkle’s slate of alternate directors for Barnes & Noble. The NYT says the move “could be crucial” since “many large institutional investors are required to vote their shares along the lines of ISS’s recommendations.” In their summary, ISS says “based on BKS’ deteriorating operating performance, poor shareholder return, less-than-enthusiastic analyst recommendations, inadequate transparency into and disclosure on a very large related-party transaction which appears to have exacerbated performance problems [i.e. the purchase of Barnes & Noble College], and significant concerns about […]