Portland, Oregon’s In Other Words bookstore, which has a “feminist and queer bent,” is in “a crisis situation” according to program director Katie Carter. “We looked at our financial situation and realized it was much more dire than it has ever been in the past. Book sales are “down significantly from previous years, and it looks like it’s going to continue that way.” The board needs to raise $11,000 or close in early January.Blog post
Bookstores
UK Book Chains Fare Worse than Trade
Revenue from sales at UK High Street booksellers (like Waterstone’s and WH Smith) fell 12.7 percent in the week ending December 6–almost five points worse than the overall decline in sales tracked by Nielsen BookScan. The Telegraph says “high street book sales are plummeting as discounting, the growth of internet operators such as Amazon and dwindling consumer spending hits retailers.” As a result, “Discounting is becoming more aggressive as retailers fight to win customers with consumer spending dwindling in the wake of the economic downturn.”Telegraph
Will Borders Need A Reverse Stock Split?
Absent other dramatic changes, it’s possible that Borders will need to execute a reverse stock split if its shares stay below $1 as the Ann Arbor News notes. “According to the NYSE, a company is sent a delisting warning letter if its average closing stock price falls below $1 for 30 consecutive trading days. The company then has six months to get the share price above $1.” Borders Anne Roman comments: “We are of course mindful of the stock price and we are mindful of what the New York Stock Exchange rules are as it applies to stock prices. We […]
Amazon Closes AbeBooks Purchase
The deal announced on August 1 for Amazon to acquired AbeBooks has now closed. The company reaffirms “AbeBooks will continue to function as a stand-alone operation based in Victoria, British Columbia. AbeBooks will maintain all its Web sites, including its Canadian Web site. The Web sites will continue to have country-specific content, such as reviews of Canadian-authored books and interviews of Canadian writers.” Still no update on what Amazon will do with its minority stake in LibraryThing. Release
Philly's Oldest Indie to Close
Robin’s Bookstore, started and “believed to be Philadelphia’s oldest independent book seller, is calling it quits at the end of January.” With sales falling “as much as 15 percent in recent months,” owner Larry Robin says business has gone “from bad bearable to bad unbearable.”Inquirer
UK Sales Down Over 4 Percent
Even as holiday sales volume picks up in the UK, as compared to last year sales are consistently down 4 percent or more. According to Nielsen Bookscan figures, total expenditures for the four weeks ending November 15 were down 4.1 percent, while unit sales declined 4.5 percent. For the recent week by itself, total spending dropped 3.9 percent compared to last year.Bookseller