Random House India and chairman of Random House New Zealand Michael Moynahan will move back to become ceo of Harper Collins for Australia and New Zealand in the new year, reporting to Victoria Barnsley. She says, “His extensive publishing background and management experience, along with an impressive track record in growing Random House’s business in both India and New Zealand, make him a perfect choice to take our business to the next level.” Moynahan adds, “Harper Collins ANZ rightly enjoys an enviable position in the market and I am looking forward to working with the team to build on a […]
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Another Broad Promotion for Books
Following news of Random House’s efforts to promote book sales this holiday season, MJ Rose announces an initiative via her AuthorBuzz venture that promises to reach “reach over 10 million people” online with banner ads. The campaign proclaims “You can’t buy more enjoyment for less… Give a book” and then promotes a selection of 24 sponsored books. Ads click through to the online bookseller choice of the author or publisher who bought the ads. But bloggers are invited to grab generic (or specific) campaign images to share the message of supporting books as gifts.Rose blog
Bertelsmann "Well Positioned"
After a weak first half for their fiscal year, Bertelsmann has issued the briefest of Q3 trading updates. Sales for the first nine months fell by 0.7 percent to 11.4 billion euros; they don’t break out third quarter sales, which were approximately 3.765 billion euros. Net profit rose to 387 million euros for those nine months, a low margin that still benefits from comparison to last year when they took a 245-million euro charge to settle lawsuits related to Napster. (Operating EBIT so far this year is down more than 10 percent at 926 million euros, though the company offers […]
Consensus: You Are Nervous
The NYT reviews most of the reasons publishers and booksellers are nervous about the state of business this holiday season. The article doesn’t face the downturn in profitable backlist, noting instead that “publishers continue to plan for blockbuster sales of marquee-brand books.” At the same time, they note there are big books–300,000 copies of Wally Lamb’s The Hour I First Believed–and very big books, with 1.25 million copies of “You: Being Beautiful — The Owner’s Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty.”NYT USA Today looked at a similar theme yesterday.