The WSJ names the “book retailer” that made offers to buy Barnes & Noble last spring that fell apart on June 19, as described in Demos Parneros’s defamation and breach of contract lawsuit against the retailer, and the company’s answer to those charges and countersuit. “People familiar with the situation say it was WH Smith PLC, a UK retailer that sells books, stationery and other products.” Though the Journal does not mention it, that makes sense contextually given where WH Smith turned next: Their deal announced October 31 to acquire US travel electronics retailer InMotion for $198 million. In announcing […]
Bookstores
Bookselling: Antiquarian Uprising, Celebrating Retail Bookstores, and More
They’re calling it Banned Bookseller Week: More than 250 antiquarian booksellers in 24 countries are pulling their inventory off Amazon-owned AbeBooks this week to protest the company’s removal of booksellers from South Korea, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Russia. The biggest international marketplace for secondhand and rare books, AbeBooks told the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers that it was scaling back because “it is no longer viable for us to operate in these countries due to increasing costs and complexities.” The company told the NYT the removals are because “our third-party payment service provider is closing at the end of the […]
Bookselling: Waterstones’ Concept Store, The Strand and Its Union, and More
Waterstones unveiled a new concept store, expanding its space in Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping center by a third, now 4,900 square feet. The store is “now able to accommodate a wider range of merchandise such as gifts, games, diaries and calendars” and features “a large area dedicated to celebrating local writers, poets and history.” Elizabeth Young, who owns online bookstore Lizzyoung Bookseller is opening a brick and mortar store in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn dedicated to “cooking, cocktails, and culture.” The store is set to open in December. Bibliophile, a new bookstore and dessert bar, opened in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Co-owners Brennan Nichols […]
Bookselling: BN Committee Hires Bankers, Another Amazon Books Opens, and More
Three weeks after it was formed, the special committee of the Barnes & Noble board that is evaluating “strategic options,” including a possible sale of the company, has hired advisors. Anthony Magro and John Kimm at Evercore are the financial advisors, and Baker Botts is legal advisor. Evercore had advised the company in 2013 when Len Riggio planned to take the bookseller private (until he withdrew). Evercore also advised the separate Barnes & Noble Education in 2017 when they purchased MBS Textbook Exchange from the Riggio family. On Tuesday, Amazon Books opened its 18th location in Marina Del Rey, CA — their third store […]
Briefs: S&S to Close Touchstone
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing president Jonathan Karp announced Monday that Touchstone will be eliminated at the end of the year, with its titles for 2019 and beyond reassigned to the Atria and Gallery lists. That decision was made in the wake of Susan Moldow’s forthcoming retirement. “Touchstone’s front list frequently overlaps with our other adult publishers, particularly Atria and Gallery Books,” Karp writes, “and I believe that going forward we will be best served by integrating Touchstone’s talented staff within these imprints.” Starting in January, executive editor Matthew Benjamin, associate editor Kaitlin Olson, executive editor Trish Todd will move to […]
Barnes & Noble Appoints a Schottenfeld-Backed Director
At the recommendation of activist shareholder Richard Schottenfeld, who controls a roughly 6.9 percent stake in the company, Barnes & Noble has added a new director to their board. They appointed Hain Celestial founder Irwin Simon as an independent board member. Simon is in the process of stepping down as ceo at Hain, after which he will serve there as non-executive chairman. BN executive chairman Len Riggio says in the announcement, “His intellect, leadership, marketing savvy and expertise will benefit Barnes & Noble greatly.”