Amazon reported sales of $12.95 billion for the fourth quarter, up 36% from a year ago. But operating income actually declined, even with almost $3.5 billion in extra revenue, down $2 million at $474 million. The company says they sold “millions of third-generation Kindles” in the quarter, and indicates “Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books as the most popular format on Amazon.com” and “this milestone has come even sooner than we expected – and it’s on top of continued growth in paperback sales.” The company adds that, “since the beginning of the year, for every 100 paperback books Amazon […]
Booksellers
Positioning Aside, Sales Fall at WH Smith High Street Stores By A Good Amount
The UK’s WH Smith presented weak sales data that people are working hard to put a positive gloss on. Same-store sales at their High Street stores were down 7 percent for the eight weeks ending January 22 (so holiday sales, sort of) and down 6 percent for the most recent 21 weeks. The company says that “excluding entertainment” product, same-store sales were down 3 three percent. They say they are “rebalancing” their store mix to focus books, stationery and candy. The Bookseller says retail analysts were told once you isolate book sales, they fell 2 percent on a same-store basis […]
BN December Store Comps Were Up Almost 13%; BN.com Gains 67 Percent Over Holidays
As promised, Barnes & Noble released a somewhat more detailed report on holiday sales this morning for the nine-week period ending January 1. The company’s bookstores had their “best [holiday] comparable store sales performance in more than a decade,” up 9.7 percent on a same-store basis and 8.2 percent overall. For December alone, comp sales rose even more, at 12.8 percent. While Nook devices accounted for much of the increase, the company says “physical book sales, especially hardcover books, were better than expected,” and their expanded toys & games department increased sales by 48 percent. Total holiday store sales were […]
Waterstone’s Parent HMV Reports Terrible Holiday Following UK Snow
Snowstorms in the UK dampened holiday sales at many outlets, and the HMV was the first of the big retailers to warn markets. Their Waterstone’s unit did well on a relative basis, with same-store sales for the 10-week holiday period declining 2.1 percent. (As we noted in December, Waterstone’s comps were down 3.2 percent for the first six months of the year, and the chain has been in “turnaround” mode since at least 2005.) HMV stores fared far worse, falling 13.6 percent on a same-store basis, and 11.9 percent overall in the 10-week period. HMV warned markets that it will […]
Nooks Drive Better-than-Expected Holiday Increase at Barnes & Noble Stores
Barnes & Noble issued a brief preliminary report on bookstore sales for the nine-week holiday period, saying that comparable store sales rose 9.7 percent through January 1. Results were driven by the the Nook reading devices, with BN saying they had the largest single day of store sales in the company’s history on December 23. They will report more details on January 6, when we may get a better glimpse of how book sales held up. Most notable about today’s report is that results were ahead of the company’s own forecast at the end of November, when they told analysts […]
After Another Terrible Quarter, Borders Warns of New Liquidity Threat
Borders reported third-quarter results after the close of the market on Thursday, and their report card is as dreadful as many feared. They are losing even more money than before and sales continue to fall at alarming rates. As part of the report, they also warn of another looming liquidity threat. The company is forced again to look for “replacement financing,” following the continuing losses and a low third-party “estimated liquidation value of our inventory” (which is their primary asset, and affects how much they can borrow.) If they can’t find a solution, they warn they could be in violation […]