Iowa City independent bookstore Prairie Lights was vaulted into the national spotlight yesterday after President Barack Obama’s speech about health care singled the bookstore out as an example of a small business that would benefit from tax credits that would help them cover the cost of insurance for their employees. “This is a small business that’s been offering coverage to their full-time employees for the last twenty years,” Obama said about the 32-year-old store. “Last year their premiums went up 35%, which made it a lot harder for them to offer the same coverage. Starting now, small business owners like…the […]
Bookstores
Both BN CEO Lynch and Retail CEO Klipper Get Same Compensation Package: 900K Base Salary, 500K Shares
Two filings with the SEC offer a look both at what CEO William Lynch will earn as Barnes & Noble’s new CEO and how Mitchell Klipper’s promotion gives him a much greater role in the company. Lynch’s three-year-deal with B&N will bring in an annual base pay of $900,000 (with eligibility for bonuses with a target of “not less than” 150% of base pay.) Lynch will also receive 500,000 shares of B&N stock and have options to buy another 500,000 shares. Klipper, however, will get virtually the same compensation package, underscoring that B&N views his new position as CEO of […]
As April 1 Loan Deadline Looms, Borders Looks to Expand Digital Division
With 10 days to go until majority stakeholder Pershing Square Capital Management decides whether Borders should finally make good on the $42.5 million loan that’s already been renegotiated three times before, expect to see a lot more speculation from analysts and journalists about the book retailer’s ability to survive. One analyst, Lou Kasman of Marketing/Management Associates LLC, told AnnArbor.com “I don’t see strong cash flow, so meeting debt is questionable. Whether the lenders will change payment requirements is the question.” Turnaround consultant Jim McTevia is much more blunt: “Borders is a classic example of a company that is struggling for […]
BN Head Lynch Takes Over As CEO of Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Just a year after bringing in William Lynch as ceo of Barnes & Noble.com and grooming him for bigger things at the company, this morning it was announced that he will take over as ceo of all of Barnes & Noble, Inc. In a second promotion, chief operating officer Mitchell Klipper moves up to the newly-created position ceo of the retail stores group. Current ceo Steve Riggio will keep the position of vice chairman and remain “actively involved in the company.” In a conference call this morning, chairman Len Riggio said “today’s announcement brings much joy to Steve and me. […]
Buy Button Bingo
With the launch of the iPad and its accompanying iBookstore just over two weeks away, the transition to an agency model for ebooks remains both contentious and uncertain. It is not at all clear whether any significant number of independent publishers will be signed with Apple and available for direct sale in their store on launch, just as it remains uncertain whether other publishers will experience interruption in their business with Amazon as Macmillan did while negotiating their transition to the new model. At least one independent publisher of scale was told categorically by Amazon in a recent phone call […]
Bookselling and More: Charging the Self-Published; A New Subscription Plan; Hosting Book Clubs
We noted short items in the past regarding how the Boulder Bookstore charges all the self-published authors who want to connect with the store rather than sending them away empty-handed, and now a Nieman Journalism Lab piece offers more details. The fee structure ranges from $25 to stock five copies and $75 to feature a book in the Recommended section, up to $255 for an in-store reading and book-signing (plus website and newsletter mention). Our first instinct was that they are charging too little for the more elaborate plans, knowing what third-parties are charging for marketing plans–and indeed, head buyer […]