In a brief trading update, UK retailer WH Smith congratulated itself for having same-store sales at their high street stores decline 5 percent for the eleven-week holiday selling period ending January 23–slightly weaker than the 4 percent comp decline for the past 21 weeks.Company release
International News
Indigo Grows Sales and Profits
In the one positive earnings report from the holiday period for an English-language bookselling chain, Canada’s dominant Indigo said that the same-store superstore sales rose 3.4 percent for the quarter ending December 26, while their smaller format stores were down 1.6 percent. Overall sales rose $10.2 million or 3 percent to $340.2 million (CA). Net after-tax earnings of $34.5 million were 29 percent higher than a year ago. But Indigo still suffers from competition with Amazon online, with online sales declining 2.7 percent to $29.3 million.Release
New Imprints: Grand Central Creates Life & Style, and Rejt Starts Pan Macmillan Line
Grand Central will fold its Springboard Press and Wellness Central lines into a newly-christened Grand Central Life & Style imprint, starting in fall 2010. They will publish eight to 12 titles a year across categories including style (beauty and fashion), food (cooking), body & mind (diet, fitness, self-help, and inspiration), home (organization, design, and green living) and connections (relationships, parenting and pets). Karen Murgolo continues to oversee this publishing, as editorial director of the new line. In the UK, Pan Macmillan publishing director Maria Rejt will run her own imprint, Mantle, which launches in May with Scott Turow’s new book. […]
People
Today all from the UK: At Harper UK, publishing director Lynne Drew has been promoted to publisher, fiction and will now oversee the company’s entire adult fiction program. Publishing director Julia Wisdom moves up to publisher, crime and thrillers, and deputy publishing director Sarah Ritherdon is in charge of commercial women’s fiction, with both reporting to Drew. Senior commissioning editor Emma Coode has been promoted to editorial director of science fiction imprint Voyager, reporting to publishing director Jane Johnson. Former Harper UK Children’s publishing director Gillie Russell will join Aitken Alexander as an agent, focusing on YA and children’s books. […]
Publishers Donate to Haiti
On Friday Random House, Inc. announced a $100,000 corporate contribution to be shared by the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund and Haitian health-care provider Partners in Health (led by Paul Farmer, the subject of Tracy Kidder’s MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS). The publisher told employees they will match their donations, dollar for dollar up to $1,000, to any tax-qualifying Haitian earthquake relief organization until June 1. Parnet company Bertelsmann has also announced a 100,000-euro donation to children’s relief organization Plan International. In a different type of relief effort, Simon & Schuster’s Pimsleur division is providing free downloads of their Haitian Creole […]
Pearson Raises Earnings Guidance for the Year
In a trading advisory ahead of their annual earnings report on March 1, Pearson told investors that they expect to show earnings per share growth of “around 10%, ahead of our previous guidance and the current consensus of market expectations (approximately 61 pence per share.) The company says, “Throughout the year, we have benefited from strong growth in US higher education; good profit improvement in US school testing and international education; and the resilience of professional testing and our subscription-based businesses in the FT Group…. In addition, in the fourth quarter we began to see the first signs of trading […]