Behold Our Tiny Booth: 3173 At this year’s BEA the entire operation of PublishersMarketplace.com and Publishers Lunch will squeeze itself into one very modest 10 x 10 booth. Our primary attraction will be a small computer and a large and handsome screen, so that you can view a demonstration of our site and follow show news as we post it. We will also feature a very large piece of canvas, decorated with very large reproductions of our logos. We’ll have actual copies of our DEAL BOOK: 2004 for your perusal, along with our special DEAL BOOK: BEA EDITION, which is […]
Lunch for Monday, May 23
AAUP Pops Quiz on Google Print for Libraries Questions about — and potential objections to — Google’s ambitious program to scan and index online the contents of major academic libraries have moved to a new level with the publication online by Business Week of a letter dated last Friday from Association of American University Presses executive director Peter Givler to Google senior counsel Alexander Macgillivray. Givler says the public posting of the letter “was a complete surprise.” While noting his members were initially enthusiastic about Google Print, Givler cites “mounting alarm and concern” over the library scanning program, saying it […]
Lunch for Friday, May 20
Mag’s Research Says Borders May Tempt Buyers BusinessWeek crunches numbers on thousands of public companies to identify a list of 15 ripe for takeover bids — and Borders makes the list: “Antitrust regulations may keep a market leader from falling prey to a major competitor. But private-equity funds, flush with an estimated $200 billion bankroll, could buy such companies without riling the watchdogs. One leader on the list, bookstore chain Borders Group (BGP), gets 16% of its revenues from selling recorded music. With the music business in the dumps, Borders is in more pain than its main rival, Barnes & […]
Lunch for Thursday, May 19
Clinton to Reflect through New Lens It’s hard to believe that it was only a year ago that we were compelled to write nearly every day about Bill Clinton’s forthcoming MY LIFE. Though we’ve been spared the same fervor over the paperback editions of the book, which have a May 31 laydown, Knopf is already seeing anticipation in excess of original projections. The trade paperback edition of the book is getting a 300,000-copy first printing (up 50,000 copies from the original announcement) and a second printing of the mass-market edition of volume one, THE EARLY YEARS, has pushed that launch […]
Lunch for Wednesday, May 18
Borders’ Down Quarter, As Predicted In line with warnings from a month ago, Borders reported a consolidated net loss of $5.3 million for the first quarter, compared to income of $2.3 million the same time last year. Borders superstores hit $579 million in sales (down 0.7 on a comparable-store basis); what’s now called Waldenbooks Specialty Retail (reflecting the conversions of many stores to Borders Express, plus Borders Outlet and airport stores) registered $143 million, still declining year-by-year, and down 3.1 percent on a same-store basis; and the international stores did $125 million in business. Ironically — and/or amusingly to those […]
Lunch for Tuesday, May 17
Superstores Improve at BN Same-store sales rose 2.2 percent for the first quarter at Barnes & Noble, hitting $1.097 billion overall. Most of that ($959 billion) comes from the BN superstores, as BN.com revenue fell slightly compared to a year ago ($91.4 million) and B. Dalton continues its fade ($31.5 million). Net earnings from continuing operations came in at the high range of the company’s predictions and exceeded analysts’ expectations at $9.9 million, though consolidated earnings are lower without a contribution from the now spun-off GameStop. BN expects mid-single-digit comparable store gains next quarter, relying on the new Harry Potter, […]