Joseph-Beth Booksellers is closing branches in Pittsburgh and Charlotte, NC. Director of marketing Chad Showalter says with sluggish forecasts into 2011, “we decided we needed to make a significant change.”Post-Gazette In Newton, MA, New England Mobile Book Fair–“the largest independent bookstore in New England”–is looking for a buyer. Attorney Steve Gans emphasizes that the 53-year-old store is strong and believes there is “pent up demand” among prospective buyers. They are working with Paul Siegenthaler at Ridge Hill Partners, who worked on the recent sales of the Wellesley Booksmith and Harvard Bookstore. Siegenthaler says “It’s a way to reach the emotional […]
For Sale
New Owner on DGNA
CEO of the Najafi Companies Jahm Najafi spoke briefly to the WSJ about his deal to purchase Direct Groug North America (DGNA) from Bertelsmann: “We’re very excited about this because we see great brands and excellent marketers. We have extensive experience in the online world and think we can change the nature of this business and grow it dramatically. We also think we can extend the club model to other products and services. We have never shied away from difficult businesses.”As the Journal notes, DGNA had sales last year of 900 million euros ($1.42 billion), with approximately 13 million members. […]
Weltbild: Clarified In Translation
More information on the potential sale of Germany’s Weltbild, which a colleague there calls “the biggest fish to come on to the market” in some time, with sales of approximately 2 billion euros a year, and a market value estimated at about 1 billion euros a year. Holtzbrinck is already a 50-percent owner of Weltbild’s publishing company Droemer and is thought to be interested primarily in that piece of the empire. Separately, Weltbild is a 50-percent partner with Hugendubel in a holding company that operates multiple bookstore chains, including Hugendubel, Weltbild plus and Jokers, and most recently, they took over […]
Papers Say Direct Group France Sale Planned
Le Figaro and Les Echos have reported that Bertelsmann is working with Morgan Stanley to elicit offers for the Direct Group France division, which comprises both book clubs and the France Loisirs bookstore chain. One paper estimates the group could sell for 300 million euros, and the business newspaper says the sale could begin in September. But a spokesman for Bertelsmann said that no decision has been made yet, adding that “the news over the timing and the price are pure speculation.” Reuters In a broader story, FT Germany says the Bertelsmann has decided to sell off the Direct Group […]