As first indicated by the Independent earlier this week, claims that Borders UK wasn’t for sale were blatantly false, and restructuring company Hilco’s private equity arm Valco Capital Partners is indeed buying the chain from Luke Johnson, the Bookseller reports. Current chief executive Philip Downer will continue to lead the company after a management buyout in tandem with finance director Mark Little. No figures are included in the report, though it was thought that the ailing group would be unloaded for a nominal sum. Downer told the Bookseller in a follow-up story that among their immediate plans are a working […]
International News
Amazon Offers Free Replacement for Cracked Kindles; Closing In on UK-indle?
Amazon spokesman Andrew Herdener tells us, while the company will not comment on active litigation, “we encourage anyone who has an issue with the cover attachment mechanism to return the cover and device for a free replacement so we can investigate further.” Separately, yesterday UK trade publication Mobile Today claimed Amazon is in “advanced negotiations with a mobile operator” in the UK, aiming for a pre-Christmas launch of Kindle in that market. MT says the UK version will be made and handled by Qualcomm, and will add wifi connectivity along with the cellular connection. But “the online retailer is known […]
Bookselling: Borders UK May Have A Buyer; Taiwan Companies Pair for eBook Launch; Bookseller Advises Authors On Signings
While still denying that Borders UK is even up for sale and insisting that Clearwater Corporate Finance has been hired only to help “seek out funding opportunities,” it looks like the ailing chain may have a buyer, or at least a company ready to take it off their hands. The Independent reports that the private equity arm of restructuring company Hilco, Valco Capital Partners, “plans to acquire the entire shareholding of Borders UK and take the company forward.” Reportedly they are “offering to take on the Borders superstores, Books Etc and Borders Express shops in a deal that could save […]
As Predicted, Commission Wants to End Books Protectionism In Australia After Three Years
Per our story yesterday, Australia’s Productivity Commission has indeed concluded that “restrictions on the parallel importation of books result in higher local book prices” and recommended an outright repeal, “with the industry having a period of three years to adjust before the changes take effect.” They do concede that enaction is likely to “cause some contraction or slowing in the growth in the book production industries.” If enacted, the $2 billion Australian trade market would become a significant growth market for exports from UK and US publishers. In balancing the decision, the commission suggests “that the current range of grants […]
Bookselling: Still Hoping to Finance Return of San Jose Store; UK Agents to Become Booksellers
San Jose’s independent store Willow Glen Books closed in May “because of decreasing sales and [owner Cathy Adkins] having to grapple with health issues,” but Roland Vierra is still working on a second attempt to get financing and start the store up again, in arrangement with owner Cathy Adkins. “Vierra said the owner of the building is willing to be patient while he works to get adequate financial backing to reopen the bookstore.”Business Journal In the UK, agents Sarah Lutyens and Felicity Rubinstein are opening a bookstore in London’s Notting Hill in October. They are recruiting a store manager now. […]
Spain's Three Biggest Publishers Form eBook Distribution Company
Planeta, Random House Mondadori and Santillana–which comprise 70 percent of the Spanish trade book market–have joined forces to set up an ebook distribution company. And apparently the three hope that together they can impose an economic model on the market–intending to sell ebooks at 80 percent of the print list price, paying royalty of 25 percent, and selling to booksellers at a 50 percent discount. But publishers intend to hold these terms only for two years, through 2011. Publishing Perspectives (the recently-launched newsletter from the Frankfurt Book Fair covering one issue of international interest daily, led by Ed Nawotka) reports: […]