In other book chain news, Borders is jumping on the “temporary store” trend, announcing this morning that they will open and run 25 “pop-up” Borders Express stores from between October 25 and January 31. The stores will average about 2,500 square feet. CEO Mike Edwards says, “The majority of these stores are located in malls where we had a presence at one time. Where it didn’t make business sense for us to operate stores on a permanent basis in these areas, we can open a seasonal store and serve the holiday shopping needs of our customers.”Release
Bookstores
Bookselling: Candy Sells, Upper West Side Denied Another Store
The Strand has successfully added generous candy racks underneath their cash register, and co-owner Fred Bass tells the NY Daily News, “We’re selling five times as much candy as we did ‘register books.’ Candy is an impulse buy.” The paper finds at least modest displays of candy to local Barnes & Noble and Borders stores as well.NYDN On Friday, Borders confirmed that a planned new store on Manhattan’s Upper West Side has been scrapped. Spokesperson Mary Davis told Bloomberg “it strategically did not fit with our current priorities, one of which is to focus on our current store base.”Bloomberg
Final Salvos in the Battle of Barnes & Noble; Burkle Says “I’m Not Trying to Take Over”
Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies issued an “open letter” to Barnes & Noble employees–who must vote their 401(k) shares by the end of the day today–along with a press release criticizing the bookseller for not allow them to communicate directly with workers. A spokesperson says in the release, “Barnes & Noble used company resources and the company’s internal communications systems on multiple occasions to solicit votes for Leonard Riggio and his hand-picked nominees to the Board of Directors. But when Yucaipa requested an opportunity to respond, we were blocked from distributing a letter filed publicly with the Securities and Exchange Commission. […]
Indie Booksellers Meet with Connecticut AG to Explain How Agency Model Helps them Compete with Web Giants
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 […]
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 […]