Ingram has cut 64 jobs, including 34 at its headquarters warehouse in La Vergne, Tennessee and 30 at its Oregon warehouse. “We’re in this very difficult economic period where retail in all sectors is down,” company spokesman Keel Hunt told the Tennessean. “Ingram is being impacted by a falloff in order from retail booksellers. Their sales are down from the year before.”Tennessean
News
Australia's Productivity Commission Recommends Open Market Push
A discussion draft released by the Australia Productivity Commission found that the country’s restrictions on parallel imports, which requires that a book must be published in Australia within 30 days of its appearing overseas or face the prospect of competing editions “impose costs on consumers but have some cultural benefits for the community”. The commission recommends keeping the restrictions, but only up to 12 months from the first publication of a book and from then on parallel importation should be “freely permitted.” The Commission’s Deputy Chairman, Mike Woods, said in a statement: “The changes will preserve some certainty for local […]
Major Publishers Partner with Scribd
Random House, Simon & Schuster, Thomas Nelson and Workman are among those publishers partnering with social publishing company Scribd to offer some of their content free of charge, including teaser excerpts and full-length works. “These partnerships help cement Scribd’s position as the online destination for readers while giving publishers a completely fresh platform to reach and market to a potential new audience of millions,” said Trip Adler, CEO and co-founder of Scribd, in today’s release. TechCrunch reports that Scribd “has actually been posting both full text and excerpts of books from some of these publishers for a few months now” […]
Analyst Hopeful on B&N Stock
In advance of tomorrow’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings report, the consensus poll of analysts expects Barnes & Noble to earn $1.48 per share for the quarter on revenue of $1.74 billion. Those earnings would be in line with the company’s reduced guidance in early January, forecasting a range of $1.30 to $1.60 a share, though the sales forecast could be high given the retailer’s weak holiday report. (BN has been weak in the two prior fourth quarters, with sales of $1.69 billion a year ago.) As reported in this piece, William Armstrong with CL King and Associates has a “buy” […]
People and Announcements
Baker & Taylor is moving its wholesale club book division, Baker & Taylor Marketing Services, to its distribution center in Indianapolis from the one in Woodland, CA, effective May 15. At Piatkus, Tim Whiting has been appointed publishing director of non-fiction, reporting to Antonia Hodgson. He will still continue his role as publishing director for Little, Brown non-fiction, reporting to Richard Beswick. Bob McLaughlin is retiring from Fujii Associates, effective April 1. Before joining Fujii, he worked at Ward Parkway Bookshop, Wybel Marketing and Heinecken and Associates. Linden Publishing, which primarily publishes in the fields of woodworking and California regional […]
Seattle P-I Book Critic's Last Column
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer prints its final edition today, and book critic John Marshall reflects on over a decade at the helm with “a farewell list of the extraordinary, the strange, the faves and flops” he remembers, including: Strangest moment: Memoirist Mary Karr (“The Liars’ Club”) packing as I asked questions in her hotel room. No other author folded tiny bikini undies during an interview. Most unforgettable book-launch party: Grove/Atlantic’s poolside soiree at the Playboy Mansion during the 1999 BookExpo in L.A. Yes, Hef wore his pj’s. Seminal figures in Seattle’s reputation as a book town: Rick Simonson of The Elliott […]