A spokesperson for Lowenstein Sandler tells PW (but, as far as we can tell, not Barron’s or the Financial Times) that the two sources where claimed some publishers had hired the firm as counsel regarding Borders’ receivables were “incorrect.” Separately, we note that an online forum for Borders employees quotes a memo from ceo Ron Marshall after the chain reported disappointing holiday sales earlier this month: “Based on our results this holiday, we have some difficult changes to make in the days and weeks ahead within our organization. There is no way around it–without increasing sales, we are forced to […]
Bookstores
Small Publishers Retain Counsel to Collect Borders Payables
News service DebtWire.com reports via the FT that a group of small publishers has hired the bankruptcy group of Lowenstein Sandler as legal counsel “concerning mounting receivables” owed them by Borders Group. But a spokesperson says Borders “has continued to pay its vendors and is not aware of any material disputes related to its December 2009 payments.” One anonymous executive says “[Borders] have been extending payables… and most publishers have cut back on what they will advance.” The service reports “three major publishers said they received payments in full from Borders for the December period but three smaller firms said […]
Bookselling: Bhodi Tree Owners Still Hope to Sell Name and Inventory
In a follow-up piece on the plans of Bhodi Tree Bookstore owners Stan Madson and Phil Thompson once they complete the sale of the building that houses the store, the LA Times says that “they are searching for someone to buy the Bodhi Tree inventory and name and continue the store in a different location.” Madson says sales are about $2 million a year (down from a high of $5 million a year in the 90s), declining about 15 percent a year in each of the last two years.LAT
Espresso Book Machine Aims to Gain Heft with Xerox Agreement
Makers of the slow-to-grow Espresso Book Machine On Demand Books announced a sales and marketing partnership with Xerox that could add some muscle to the company’s efforts. Together they will sell a high-speed Xerox copier/printer that they say can print approximately 40,000 300-page books a year, paired with On Demand’s finishing machine and software. That is a significantly higher capacity than is provided by the other printers that have traditionally been paired with On Demand’s finisher–though the new package is more expensive, too, adding approximately $20,000 to the roughly $100,000 cost of the current full package from On Demand. Presumably, […]
Bookselling: Marcus Books In Trouble; Touting New Releases
Oakland’s Marcus Books, “the nation’s oldest African American bookstore” is “in deep financial trouble” and faces foreclosure. The Oakland-area NBC station reports that manager (and daughter of the founders) Blanche Richardson blames “a Ponzi scheme and a subprime loan” for the store’s troubles. They “need to raise tens of thousands of dollars to keep the store afloat,” and have started a legal defense fund.NBC site In USA Today, booksellers Elaine Petrocelli of Book Passage, Audrey Bullar of Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Patricia Bostelman at Barnes & Noble, Daphne Durham at Amazon, and Larry Norton at Borders tip these new and forthcoming releases: […]
Waterstone's Holiday Comps Down 9%; MD Johnson Is Replaced
Waterstone’s parent company HMV issued a brief trading update, reporting that in the ten-week holiday sales period ending January 2, same-store sales at the bookstore chain declined 8.9 percent. Managing director Gerry Johnson has been dismissed, and HMV group development director Dominic Myers has taken over management of Waterstone’s “with immediate effect.” (BTW, total e-book downloads for the period were 80,000 units.) HMV head Simon Fox says, “Whilst the recent performance of Waterstone’s has been unsatisfactory, it remains an excellent business and brand, with a great opportunity as the only remaining specialist bookseller on the High Street.” Fox indicates to […]