Following investor Ron Burkle’s accumulation of a large block of BN stock, the company’s board announced yesterday the passage of a “shareholder rights plan,” aka poison pill–largely out of favor now (except at companies where the founder still controls a third of the stock). The adopted the measure “in response to the recent rapid accumulation of a significant portion of Barnes & Noble’s outstanding common stock” and insist it “is intended to protect the company and its stockholders from efforts to obtain control of the company that are inconsistent with the best interests of the company and its stockholders.” The […]
Bookstores
Burkle Doubles Barnes & Noble Stake; May Agitate for Change
There could be a battle of the billionaires brewing at Barnes & Noble, as companies controlled by investor Ron Burkle disclosed to the SEC that they have more than doubled their stake in the bookseller recently. Burkle’s companies now control 16.8 percent of the bookseller’s stock. That’s still only about half as much as the big block of stock controlled by chairman Len Riggio. Burkle’s recent purchases likely played a role in the recent upturn in BN’s stock, which lifted after reporting strong pre-orders for the nook. (Traders had been betting against BN, holding a lot of stock shorts that […]
In Turnabout, Australia to Keep Import Rules In Place
The Australian government has overturned the efforts by the previous Labor government to throw out the country’s parallel importation restrictions on books that protect local publishers. They write: “In the circumstances of intense competition from online books and e-books, the Government judged that changing the regulations governing book imports is unlikely to have any material effect on the availability of books in Australia. If books cannot be made available in a timely fashion and at a competitive price, customers will opt for online sales and e-books.” In concert with the policy change, the government also made it clear it will […]
Bookselling: Two Schwartz Successors Concerned About Third
Another Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop alum is opening a new store, Open Book run by Lisa Zupke–this time billed as a cooperative, supported by a $35,000 low-interest municipal loan, and located within miles of two other Schwartz successors, Daniel Goldin’s Boswell Book Company and Lanora Hurley’s Next Chapter Bookshop. “They’re definitely targeting my customers,” Goldin tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hurley adds, “I’m just concerned that splitting the pie three ways will take all three of us out.” Open Book is selling memberships ranging from $50 to $500, and soliciting loans from wealthy individuals.MJS
Borders to Slash Another 200 Walden Outlets in January
With competitor Barnes & Noble preparing to close all but the last two of their B. Dalton mall stores by January, Borders announced after yesterday that they will close approximately 200 of the remaining mall-based Waldenbooks outlets in January. The move will leave Borders with about 130 mall-based locations remaining. The company estimates that 1,500 jobs–mostly part-time–will be eliminated as a result. CEO Ron Marshall says, “We believe there remains an opportunity to profitably operate a much smaller Waldenbooks segment that complements our core Borders superstore business and continues to serve readers in their communities. Through this right-sizing, we will […]
Lulu Adds An eBook Store—with Real Authors
Lulu.com announced in a press release the addition to their site on an ebook store they say features over 200,000 titles from mainstream publishers and authors. While the company hopes to sell some of those titles to its site visitors, they are also clearing hoping to use the established titles as bait to attract more self-publishing customers–already said to be producing “nearly 15,000 new titles a month.” Sic. On the site, Lulu says that for self-publishing customers, on a $13.99 ebook they will pay the creator $10 per title sold. On titles from other publishers, they appear to sometimes offer […]