Last month's announcement that Partners Book Distribution would begin closing down its business starting April 1 has resulted in confusion for some publishers about what is to come next.
Some of the uncertainty stems from the fact that Partners served as both a wholesaler for publishers (through Partners West and Partners East) but also a distributor for independent presses, a unit it operated under the Partners Publishing Group name. PPG offered small presses, sometimes with only a single title, a way to get their books into national accounts.
In order to accommodate its distribution clients, PPG is offering clients the option of going with Midpoint Trade Sales. In early April, PPG sent out a letter to its publishers detailing this option. According to Eric Kampmann, president and CEO of Midpoint, only those publishers who reach an agreement with Midpoint will be transitioning to them.
In a statement, Midpoint senior v-p Chris Bell said his company is in the process of working with publishers on new agreements and the transfer of inventory and data. "Our goal is to achieve a seamless and timely transition for PPG publishers," Bell said, although no timetable for the completion of the transition has been set.
Meanwhile, the IBPA has received questions from some of its members asking when they can expect inventory to be returned from the wholesaler side of the business. Partners' Sara Speigel said that they are in the process of reconciling accounts and returning books and that individual arrangements will be made with each publisher.
