Midpoint Trade Books has struck a deal with Leisure Arts Inc. that will result in Midpoint moving its warehousing operation from Kansas City to Leisure Arts’ Little, Rock facility. The switch is expected to be completed in February.
According to Midpoint president Eric Kampmann, the move will provide Midpoint’s client publishers access to new markets and quicker fulfillment while also giving Midpoint the capability to add more, and bigger, clients. Midpoint will continue to handle the sales and marketing functions while Leisure Arts, part of Liberty Media, will handle the backend. “Combining Midpoint’s sales and marketing expertise with our distribution platform gives a rare and promising opportunity to other publishers,” said Rick Barton, CEO of Leisure Arts. Midpoint has been selling Leisure Arts titles for about two years.
Kampmann also expects that by February Midpoint’s Web site will be completely overhauled. A highlight will be improved access to sales data. Publishers will be able to track not only what Midpoint has shipped but also follow sales account by account.
