Sweden’s largest bookseller Akademibokhandeln has been sold to industrial group Volati, which purchased control from Accent Equity (along with acquiring minority stakes from a group of companies, including publisher Natur & Kultur). With 108 stores, Akademibokhandeln is said to comprise 35 percent of Sweden’s book sales. The group had sales last year of approximately $208 million, with ebitda of over $14 million. Though the purchase price was not disclosed, the press release says the chain has an enterprise of about 760 million Swedish krona, or about $88 million. BookNet Canada released their annual survey on the state of digital publishing […]
International News
Harper Bolsters International Management
As part of the expanding global publishing program set in motion by the acquisition of Harlequin’s operations around the world, HarperCollins ceo Brian Murray announced changes to the international leadership team “to align our structure with our strategy to realize our ambitious foreign language growth plans.” Murray adds that, “This central structure will allow me to work more closely with the international teams to ensure we are investing appropriately and hitting all the targets necessary for growth in the non-English markets.” EVP, International and chief digital officer, Chantal Restivo-Alessi will now oversee the general management and operations of all foreign language publishing. […]
People, Etc.
Brooks Sherman will join Janklow & Nesbit as a literary agent on May 23, continuing to represent fiction for young adult and middle-grade readers, picture books, select literary and commercial adult fiction, and nonfiction in the areas of humor, pop culture, and narrative nonfiction. Most recently he was an agent at The Bent Agency. Nicola Barr is leaving Greene & Heaton and joining The Bent Agency with her existing list of clients, helping to expand the agency’s UK business. Liz Tzetzo has joined Macmillan as vice president of client publisher services. Previously, she was vice president of marketing and sales director for Basic […]
EU Formalizes Amazon eBook Antitrust Agreement
The European Commission formally adopted “commitments” from Amazon to avoid legal charges and potential fines for violating antitrust law with their ebook contracts. Hewing closely to the proposed settlement announced in late January, with some slight modifications, Amazon agrees to drop a broad range of restrictive most-favored-nations clauses in their ebook contracts in Europe for the next 5 years. Notably, the agreement pertains not just to European companies, but “to any e-book in any language distributed by Amazon in the European Economic Area.” EC commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager said in a statement: “Today’s decision will open the way […]
Amazon Confirms Full-On Australian Expansion
After lengthy speculation, Amazon confirmed that it will indeed open a full online store in Australia. The company said in a statement, “The next step is to bring a retail offering to Australia, and we are making those plans now. We are excited to bring thousands of new jobs to Australia, millions of dollars in additional investment, and to empower small Australian businesses through Amazon Marketplace.” They launched a Kindle store in Australia in 2013, and as of a 2015 report, were thought to sell at least $250 million to $300 million a year in physical books exported to Australian customers. […]
People, Etc.
Kim Van Der Zon joined the Barnes & Noble on April 5. She leads the global board practice at Egon Zehnder, a global board advisory, executive search and leadership consulting firm. Hachette Audio has announced a number of new hires and promotions. Tina McIntyre has moved over as senior executive director of content development, reporting to Anthony Goff. Previously, she managed marketing, digital publishing, and strategic planning for Little, Brown Children’s. Megan Fitzpatrick has been promoted to senior director of marketing and publicity, working on both audio and content development initiatives. Melissa Powers has joined as associate project manager of audio and content development, […]