Meanwhile, on the continuing story of Aletheia Research and the Yucaipa Cos. toying with bookselling stocks, in the first three weeks of January (and especially on January 20), as Ron Marshall was closing his deal to run A&P and discussing his experiences at Borders, Aletheia bought another 268,000 or so share of Barnes & Noble. That boosts their stake to 15.71 percent of shares.SEC filing Deputy president of Sony’s Digital Reading Business Division Fujio Noguchi said at a press conference their Reader sales “quadrupled on a year-over-year basis” in 2009. It was the bestseller at their Sony Style online store […]
Bookstores
Borders Fires Another 10 Percent of Corporate Staff
Borders is eliminating another 124 positions from their corporate staff–about two-thirds of those from the company’s Ann Arbor headquarters–along with 40 positions at their warehouses, announced by e-mail, and confirmed to the Ann Arbor News. The company had signaled earlier in an internal memo we cited last week the need for further “adjustments to our cost structure.” Spokesperson Anne Roman says, “This is a situation where the company is adjusting its payroll to the realities of what its sales situation is.” SVP of human resources Shereen Solaiman wrote to employees, “While at this time we do not plan further wide-scale […]
Barnes & Noble Subpoenaed by NY Attorney General; Assures Customers their Data is Private
Barnes & Noble noted in a release that the New York State Attorney General subpoenaed the company as part of an investigation into online retailers who link customers to discount clubs that charge hidden fees. BN “said that it wants to reassure customers that it is not one of the retailers who turns over personal or credit or debit card information to discount clubs.” BN.com president William Lynch said the investigation “will show that Barnes & Noble does not, nor has it ever, shared customer debit or credit card information with discount clubs. Customers should be reassured that their personal […]
WH Smith Holiday Comps Down 5 Percent
In a brief trading update, UK retailer WH Smith congratulated itself for having same-store sales at their high street stores decline 5 percent for the eleven-week holiday selling period ending January 23–slightly weaker than the 4 percent comp decline for the past 21 weeks.Company release
Bookselling: Two More Store Closings
Greenville, SC’s The Open Book intends to close shortly after almost 40 years in business, with a closing sale starting this week. Owner Duff Bruce says, “It is emotional, I am emotional about the business, I am emotional about the customers, but you have to be a realist.”Local coverage Ohio’s The Mystery Company will also close shortly, after seven years in business. Jim Huang says in a blog post “business here has been rough for a while, especially since gas prices spiked in the summer of 2008.” Plus: “Independent booksellers need to find ways to participate in print on demand, […]
A Year Later, Borders CEO Marshall Leaves for A Better Job
When we reported Borders ever “disappointing” holiday sales earlier this month, we noted that the last time the chain did that poorly they changed chief executives–and lo and behold, after just a year in office, ceo Ron Marshall is departing, to take the ceo job at another unnamed publicly-held retailer. The company is initiating a search through Korn/Ferry, so clearly Marshall surprised the company by heading for the door. Chief merchandising officer Mike Edwards takes the interim ceo post, having worked at Borders since last September.Release