ENTRIES TAGGED "bookseller"
The reinvention of the bookseller
Coffee shops were game changers for bookstores in the '90s. What's next?
Once booksellers accept the reality they can no longer just sell books, they can begin evolving into something dynamic and unique.
BN.com Redesign Nets Significant Traffic Increase
Barnes and Noble is seeing positive results from its 2007 Web site overhaul. From Publishers Weekly: … in 2007, the online arm of the retailer posted a 10.1% sales increase, helped by a strong fourth quarter, and the solid results continued into the first period of 2008: B&N.com posted a 7.2% sales increase, compared to an increase of 1.1%…
Borders Cuts 274 Positions
Borders is cutting 274 jobs, with most of the hit being absorbed by corporate groups within the company's Ann Arbor, Mich. headquarters. From Publishers Weekly: Borders stressed that with a few exceptions none of the cuts came at the store level and a spokesperson said there are no plans to reduce the number of store employees. The cuts represented…
B&N Considering Borders Acquisition
When Borders announced its exploration of "strategic alternatives" in March, speculation marked Barnes & Noble as a possible suitor. The Wall Street Journal says B&N is taking that speculation seriously — it's assembled an advisory team to study an acquisition of its brick-and-mortar competitor. From the WSJ: That Barnes & Noble is contemplating a bid illustrates how competitive book retailing…
Bookstores Confront Fake Author Scam
Scammers claiming to be authors are trying to pluck money from California booksellers. From the L.A. Times: … slowly but surely, stores are being contacted by people claiming to be someone they're not and trying to persuade the bookstore staff to send them money. It's bewildering to a community that operates largely on trust and personal relationships. The "authors"…
Tim O'Reilly: Amazon Has Publishers in its Sights
Over on the the O’Reilly Radar blog, Tim O’Reilly offers a warning for publishers, and cautions Amazon against "irreparably" harming the publishing ecosystem: It is a free-market economy, and competition is the name of the game. But as Amazon’s market power increases, it needs to be mindful of whether its moves, even those that may be good for the…
Amazon Growth Fuels Online's Book Market Share
Online retailers claim 21-30 percent of the consumer trade book market, according to two recent surveys. Publishers Weekly says much of this growth comes from Amazon: In discussing their 2007 results, both Penguin's David Shanks and Simon & Schuster's Carolyn Reidy said the e-tailer was their fastest-growing account last year, while Quarto Group chairman Laurence Orbach noted that sales…
Roundup: Free Doesn't Always Apply, Kindle's Ebook Impact, Indie Bookstores and Chains Face Same Competitor, UK Publishers and Amazon in Price Battle, Borders Gets a Better Deal
Free Doesn't Work for Every Company From Peter Brantley: Hank Williams of Why Does Everything Suck? does an informal economic critique of Chris Anderson's "things tend to free" hypothesis: "Some of you will argue that Google does fine based purely on advertising. But just because one company can commoditize everyone else's work and make pennies on things that used to…
Converted Church Sells Books, Attracts Tourists
Here's a new spin on retail: "Bookstore as tourist attraction." The Selexyz Dominicanen bookstore in Maastricht, Netherlands — housed in a reworked 13th-century Dominican church — is attracting both book patrons and tourists. From The Guardian: The beautifully restored building is an attraction in its own right, and yet the installation of a towering, three-storey black steel bookstack in the…
Independent Booksellers and Chains Face Big-Box Competitors
Looks like the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" maxim is coming in to play with the increased attention big-box retailers are giving to books. Small indie booksellers and chain stores, such as Borders and B&N, are feeling the pinch from big-box store markdowns. From the Washington Post: Costco, Target, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club aren't just moving in…