Sales rose 12 percent in the first quarter at Lagardere Publishing, to 463 million euros, as the company sold over 18 million copies of Stephenie Meyer books worldwide. Foreign exchange had “a negative effect” of 9 million euros, with the pound weakening and the dollar strengthening during the period. That left Hachette Book Group in the US with 20 percent of the company’s sales, and Hachette UK at 18 percent. The company acknowledges that the first quarter percentage increase was helped by “a flattering comparative” and says that “while Lagardère Publishing is ahead of budget for the first three months […]
Red Wheel Partners with Hampton Roads, and People News
Red Wheel/Weiser and Hampton Roads Publishing are joining forces as of June 1 in what is being called a distribution relationship but also “a joint operating agreement” according to Red Wheel president Michael Kerber. (Both lines are already warehoused at Books International.) Kerber notes “we’re also combining forces for several back office functions — eliminating duplication on the operations, accounting, and production side.” The companies say they will operate primarily from Red Wheel’s offices in Newburyport and San Francisco. Greg Brandenburgh will oversee the Hampton Roads part of the endeavor, based in San Francisco, and the imprint will publish a […]
Inside the Kindle Sales Explosion
There was one, and only one, surprise for trade publishers at last week’s press conference to introduce the Kindle DX, but its impact is still being examined carefully at multiple publishers. It came when Amazon ceo Jeff Bezos said “Kindle sales are now 35 percent of books where we have Kindle editions” and print editions of the same title. Bezos indicated the increase was “coincident with the launch of Kindle 2.” That jaw-dropping figure, such as it is, was more than three times the ratio that Amazon had reported previously, first in October and then again in February when Kindle […]
Bertelsmann Suffers in Downturn
Bertelsmann issued a first quarter overview and said that for the full year, they expect both “revenues and operating profit to decline.” Sales from continuing operations were 3.5 billion euros for the quarter, down 8 percent from 3.8 billion euros a year ago. Operating EBIT fell sharply at 115 million euros, compared to 253 million euros a year ago, and they recorded a net operating loss of 78 million euros. No breakdowns were provided for individual units of the company. The company says “coming months will continue to be dominated by strict cost discipline.” Though recent efforts have aimed at […]
Alarms on ePiracy
Though the torrent sites would appear to have had limited pirating of books, the rise of document-posting sites like Scribd and Wattpad and services that make it easier to upload and share large file like RapidShare are seen as enabling a rise in book piracy online. Hachette Book Group ceo David Young says “It’s exponentially up.” He adds, “Our legal department is spending an ever-increasing time policing sites where copyrighted material is being presented.” Wiley says they employee three people to search for unauthorized copies and issue takedown notices. On the other hand, though, you could also see it as […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, May 11
Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form The Key As usual, the handy key to our Lunch deal categories. While all reports are always welcome, those that include a category will generally receive a higher listing when it comes time to put them all together. “nice deal” $1 – $49,000 “very nice deal” $50,000 – $99,000 “good deal” $100,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $499,000 “major deal” $500,000 and up FICTION Debut New York Social Diary contributing editor, CEO of wealth management firm […]