In their quarterly SEC filing, Barnes & Noble addressed the would-be class action suit filed in New York last month that includes the bookseller and Amazon along with Apple and the six largest trade publishers, alleging price fixing and conspiracy with respect to the agency model for ebooks. “The company denies liability and intends to vigorously defend its interests.” Books-a-Million filed their quarterly report as well, which confirms the continuing merchandise shift underway at physical stores. Books and magazines now comprise 75.6 percent of sales, down from over 80 percent a year ago. The largest growth area, no surprise, is […]
Booksellers
BN Says Nook Is A $900 Million Business, Set to Double
Barnes & Noble reported first quarter results that were mostly below analysts’ expectations, but showed strong growth in the Nook business and for the first time broke out the entire digital reading segment. The Nook segment–including content, devices and accessories–totalled $277 million for the quarter, with BN saying digital content sales quadrupled over the year. They say the Nook business comprised $880 million last year (and $123 million in 2010), and “is expected to double this year to $1.8 billion.” That news, and projections of smaller losses and much better EBITDA thanks to the Liberty Media investment sent Barnes & Noble […]
BAMM Earnings and Store Comps Slide Sharply in Second Quarter
Books-A-Million posted its second quarter earnings for the period ending July 30, with net sales dropping 11.4 percent to $106.4 million (from $120 million a year ago) and store comps falling 12.9 percent from the same time last year. The company also suffered a net loss of $2.9 million, or 18 cents a diluted share, in contrast to the $1.8 million in net profit earned 12 months ago, and on top of the $3.5 million lost in the first quarter. BAMM chairman, president and ceo Clyde Anderson said in a statement that the results “reflect a continuation of the trends […]
Indigo Store Comps Fall and Net Losses Mount in FirstQuarter
For their fiscal first quarter ending July 2, Indigo reported sales of C$202 million, down 1.1 percent from a year ago, with an EBITDA loss of C$19.9 million (compared to a loss of just $800,000 a year ago). Physical book sales fell, as superstore comps dropped 5.4 per cent in the quarter, while their smaller-format stores were down 5.2 per cent. They also took a $3.2 million charge for their annual summer clearance sales of unsold books and other merchandise. The company’s digital business increased by 170 percent compared to last year, helped by the June launch of the Kobo Touch […]
Amazon’s Meager Profit Is Still Better than Expected
Amazon’s profits are still declining even as the company post big gains in sales–but the second-quarter drop in profits was not as bad as Wall Street was expecting, so that counts as bullish news for investors (who now value the company at a more than 90 times its earnings). Sales increased 51% to $9.91 billion, about $500 million of that gain attributed to favorable foreign exchange; net income was $191 million or 41 cents a share, down from $207 million a year ago (on much smaller sales). But analysts were expecting only 34 cents a share on sales of under […]
Bookselling: Malone on BN; BA Objects to Amazon/Book Depository, WHSmith Store Comps Decline
Attending the Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley, Liberty Media ceo John Malone spoke publicly about the potential Barnes & Noble buyout for the first time since the possible merger was announced back in May. “It would be a bit of a flier for us, on whether or not Barnes & Noble can play competitively with the likes of Apple and Amazon in the digital transformation,” he said. “That’s really the bet.” Malone characterized the steep decline in brick-and-mortar bookselling as akin to those who survive a smallpox epidemic: “If you’re still alive, well, maybe you got a chance […]