On December 3, Swedish digital audio and ebook subscription service Storytel moved trading of their B shares to the higher-profile Nasdaq First North (a part of the exchange reserved for small and high-growth European companies). As part of move, they provided an extensive company description that shares details about their growth and financials. Building on their foundation in Sweden, the company’s play is global: More than half of the close to 800,000 subscriber base resides outside of Sweden, reflecting an aggressive growth strategy in international markets, now including Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, India, Spain, Iceland, UAE, Italy, […]
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Corporate News: Barnes TV, Barnes & Smith, and An Interactive Peter Rabbit
Barnes & Noble is previewing their new “Nobody Knows Books Like We Do” holiday video ads, to be featured on cable TV and movie screens. The general ads are available on their YouTube channel, but they have yet to post what sound like the most interesting spots: A collection of 15-second videos “that celebrate the company’s remarkable 23,000 booksellers who make shopping at Barnes & Noble a one-of-a-kind experience.” CMO Tim Mantel says in the announce, “Our bookstores are cherished community centers where people go to aspire to learn more about the world around them and discover something new. This […]
WH Smith Was The Potential Barnes & Noble Buyer
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 […]
Patterson Tries An Enhanced Novel Launched On Facebook Messenger
James Patterson’s latest experiment releases today on a new platform, Facebook Messenger. THE CHEF, set in New Orleans, is an enhanced digital novel about a police detective — who runs the Killer Chef food truck at night with his ex-wife — who is under investigation for a murder he is accused of committing in the line of duty. The digital experience is free, presented in English and available throughout the world, with a traditional, full-length print version of the story to follow on February 18, 2019 (written with Max DiLallo). For Facebook Messenger Patterson has revived — or in his […]
Corporate: Pearson Gains On Steady Quarter, Scribd Pairs with NYT
Pearson provided a trading update on the first nine months of 2018. Total revenues were flat, with a 3 percent decline in US higher education courseware offsetting growth in the rest of the company. The company attributed some of the revenue decline to delays caused by the implementation of new enterprise software in the US, which it expects to “largely reverse” in the fourth quarter. That growth elsewhere, along with revised estimates for some one-time tax benefits, helped lift shares in London today. The traditionally terse comment on trade book performance noted, “Penguin Random House is performing in line with […]
Briefs: Obama Picks, BuzzFeed Book Club, New Kindle, And More
Picks Barack Obama published a few pre-election reading recommendations. They include How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt and The Broken Ladder by Keith Payne, in addition to magazine pieces by Matthew Desmond and Yoni Appelbaum. BuzzFeed has finally launched the monthly book club, they have been talking about for a while. Family Trust by Kathy Wang is the inaugural November pick. Enrolled members will receive two newsletters a month with “exclusive content from the authors, highlights from the Facebook group, blurbs from future selections, giveaways, and more.” Unfortunately, like Oprah, there is at least some kind of awkward Amazon promotional arrangement involved. Though it’s […]