Sales at Canada’s dominant bookseller Indigo rose 1.6 percent in the first quarter at $193.6 million (Canadian), with same-store superstore sales up 1.4 percent and same-store sales at their smaller-format stores up 0.8 percent. Online sales continue to decline, though, down 9.1 percent to $19.1 million, and the company says they have “eliminated certain non profitable business.” Their net loss was worse, at $2.3 million compared to a $1.2 million loss a year ago. CEO Heather Reisman says the “drop in bottom line results reflects our increased operating investment this year in both Pistachio and Shortcovers.” (Pistacho is “an eco-friendly […]
International News
International Earnings: Mondadori Down More than 20%; Restructuring To Come
Sales at Italy’s book and magazine giant Mondadori fell over 21 percent in the first six months of the year, to 730 million euros (from 930 million a year ago). Net income fell further still, down 80 percent to 7.3 million euros (with EBITDA of 40 million euros, down 61.5 percent). The company also carries 474 million euros of debt. Despite the drops, Mondadori’s results were actually ahead of analysts’ expectations. Reuters says “it gave no clear indication about much-awaited cost cuts but said it expected a ‘strong’ restructuring in the coming months.” The company called the year “difficult and […]
LibreDigital Gets More Funding, and People News
LibreDigital has closed a $15 million Series B funding round, led by new investor Triangle Peak Partners and existing investor Adams Capital Management. (Existing investors include HarperCollins and the New York Times Comany.) They say the new capital will be used by “to expand marketing and development of the company’s digital platform, designed to help publishers go direct to consumers as they access, buy, read and share content across online and mobile platforms.” Rachel Dicker has joined Baker & Taylor as director, publisher digital services, reporting to Linda Gagnon, svp, publisher digital services and business development. She was formerly Director […]
As Tipped, Valco Buys Borders UK
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 […]
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 […]