ENTRIES TAGGED "retail"
Reinventing the Book and Killing It are Separate Things
Columnist Richard Cohen is overestimating the threat of digital books.
Mobile Barcode Scanners and Retail Stores on Collision Course
Ilya Vedrashko points out a near-term future scenario in which retail sites are going to have to entirely rethink what integration into online services means: The obvious future of in-store experience: you find something you like, reach into your pocket for a small device, scan the barcode, and the device tells you whether and where the same product is…
UK Book Chain Installing Espresso POD Machines
UK book retailer Blackwell will test the Espresso Book Machine at one of its locations this fall with an eye toward installing the print-on-demand device at additional stores. From a Blackwell press release: Blackwell CEO Vince Gunn — "From a retailer's point of view, even allowing for the first-generation technology and publisher challenges, this is a fantastic opportunity –…
Borders Sells Stores in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore
From Shelf Awareness: Borders Group has sold its stores in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore to A&R Whitcoulls, the major Australian and New Zealand bookseller that is owned by private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners. The deal is valued at US $104 million (about $90 million now and up to $14 million in deferred payments next year) and should…
Amazon: Kindle Owners Buy More Books
In press releases and in Book Expo sessions, Amazon is touting an interesting figure: consumers who purchase a Kindle increase their overall book purchases through Amazon by an average of 2.6 times. That "2.6 times" figure doesn't mean Kindle customers are boosting their print purchases, but it does go a short ways toward quelling ebook cannibalization concerns. At a…
Path to Web Retail Getting Easier for Independent Music Labels
This is an interesting story from the music world. The implication is that the barrier to retail is dropping in music, which has different hurdles than publishing. The Independent Online Distribution Alliance, better known as IODA, launched itself in 2003 to help independent labels, artists and others in the music industry make the leap from physical to digital. One…
Studio Notes DVD Sales Increase Amidst Digital Distribution
Warner Brothers found that DVD sales actually increased during a simultaneous DVD/VOD release program. These results apply to other industries, including publishing.
News Roundup: Google's Book Scanning, Kindle's Future Path, Authorship Increases Exponentially, Amazon Takes on "Amazon Tax," 5 DRM Messes
A Glimpse into Google's Book Scanning Google doesn't divulge specifics about its proprietary book scanning set-up, but the Associated Press offers a brief look into the manual scanning process used for old/fragile titles. (Continue reading) Kindle's All-Encompassing Future Path Jeff Nolan writes about the path of the Kindle: It's clear that [Jeff] Bezos sees a day when any and all…
Amazon Challenges New York's "Amazon Tax"
As expected, Amazon is challenging New York's recently passed sales tax statute. From Amazon's filed complaint (pdf): Because some independently operated, New York-based websites post advertisements with links to Amazon and are compensated for these advertisements, Amazon is now presumed to have engaged in "solicitation" under this statue … despite the fact that Amazon lacks any physical presence in…
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"…