Hastings reported third quarter sales of $114 million, down six percent from a year ago. Leaving aside rental revenues, sales of merchandise were down 5.1 percent on a same-store sales basis. But books outperformed many of their other media categories, as “books comps increased 1 percent for the quarter, due to strong sales of new trade paperback as well as used trade paperback and used hardbacks, partially offset by lower sales of periodicals.” The company swung from a slim profit this time last year to a net loss of $3.7 million for the quarter. (That loss includes a special $400,000 […]
Booksellers
WH Smith Sales Slide
British-based retailer WH Smith issued a short trading update for September 1 through November, when same-store High Street sales fell 4 percent. They added: “Whilst we remain cautious about the consumer environment and anticipate competitive trading in our markets over the key Christmas period, we have planned accordingly, and the current financial year has started as we expected.” In other UK financials, sales at Canongate for calendar 2007 declined almost 4 percent, down to 7.8 million pounds from 8.1 million the year before, while pre-tax profits fell sharply to 271,000 pounds, 60 percent decline from the year before. The company’s […]
Riggio: Prepare for A "Terrible Holiday Season"
The WSJ reproduced an in-house memo to Barnes & Noble employees sent last week bychairman Len Riggio: “Never in all of the years I’ve been in business have I seen a worse outlook for the economy. And never in all my years as a bookseller have I seen a retail climate as poor as the one we are in. Nothing even close.” He warns, “we are bracing for a terrible holiday season, and expect the trend to continue well into 2009, and perhaps beyond.” Riggio announces that “new store openings will be curtailed greatly, and discretionary expenditures will be cut […]
More Reports: Indigo Holds Steady
At Canada’s dominant retailer Indigo, sales for the second quarter fell 2 percent to $205 million (CA), with net earnings “down slightly” at $3.2 million. CEO Heather Reisman says “we were pleased with the bottom line results given today’s challenging economic climate.” Same-store sales rose 2 percent at the Indigo and Chapters superstores, and 7.4 percent at the small-format Coles stores. But online sales decreased 19.8 percent to $21.1 million, attributed entirely (and then some) to the comparison to last year’s numbers for the release of the final Harry Potter Book.Release
Amazon's Quarter Is Fine, But They're Braced for a Grim Finale
Amazon.com held up well enough in their fiscal third quarter, which ended September 30, recording another healthy increase in sales of 31 percent to $4.26 billion (with an $80 million boost due to favorable currency exchange). Operating income rose 26 percent to $154 million. The sales number was in line with analysts’ expectations but the income figure fell well short. Of greater concern to markets is Amazon’s reduced guidance for the fourth quarter. Sales are projected to fall between $6 billion and $7 billion (an increase of between 6 percent and 23 percent), and operating income is projected to range […]
WH Smith: A Bookseller Whose Stock Actually Rises
WH Smith presented the market with a pleasant surprise, reporting sales of 1.352 million pounds, up 4 percent for the year, with profits rising 15 percent to 76 million pounds, above analysts’ expectations. Like-for-like book sales were “flat excluding the impact of last year’s Harry Potter release” (aka “down”). “Gross margin was up year on year. We were pleased with our share performance versus the general high street,” the company said. And among their travel stores, “extended books charts, improved display of chart titles and strong promotions have contributed to our books performance and we have also seen an encouraging […]