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News Shorts Staff -- 10/30/00 B&N, B&N.com Launch Joint Programs | Bahr Replaces Karp at AtRandom Media Play, On Cue Post Sales Gains | Contest Seeks Fresh Love Story Sales, Earnings Improve At Simon & Schuster | J.K. Rowling D s Toronto Schwartz Named CIO At HarperCollins | Whiting Awards | Matthews to Buy Login Assets Varsity Group Cuts Losses | Obituary Strategy B&N, B&N.com Launch Joint ProgramsIn what it described as an "acceleration" of its strategy to build an extensive clicks-and-mortar network, Barnes & Noble and Barnesandnoble.com held an analysts meeting last Thursday to unveil a number of new initiatives to link the company's superstores with its Web operation. The two major programs are the installation of Internet service counters at B&N superstores and the creation of a B&N loyalty program. In addition, customers who buy books or music CDs through B&N.com will now be able to return items to B&N stores and will receive store credit. The new service counters will enable customers to log on to B&N.com to order any book or other product through the B&N.com Web site, which lists more than one million titles. Customers can pick up their orders at the store or have them delivered. Alan Kahn, chief operating officer for B&N, said B&N will have about 40 counters installed by the end of the year, and he expects to have counters in all superstores by the end of June. Under the membership loyalty program, called Readers' Advantage, customers who pay a $25 annual fee will receive 10% additional discount at B&N outlets and an extra 5% at B&N.com. Other benefits include invitations to members-only events. Rollout of the program through stores is expected to take 10 days; customers will be able to register online beginning November 12. Kahn told PW the initiatives "are geared to providing the best customer service possible, whether online or through a store." Kahn further observed that "the combination of bricks-and-mortar stores and the Internet will be the combination that will succeed in the long run in all areas of retailing, not just books." --Jim Milliot People Bahr Replaces Karp at AtRandomMary Bahr, director of new business development for the Random House Publishing Group, has added the title of editorial director of AtRandom following the departure of Jonathan Karp, who is leaving the publisher to become v-p of production for Scott Rudin Productions. Karp, v-p and senior editor at the Random House trade group, was named to direct the division's digital publishing imprint this summer (News, Aug. 7). A Random spokesperson said Karp's departure will have no effect on AtRandom's publishing plans. --Staff 3rd-Quarter Results Media Play, On Cue Post Sales GainsTotal revenues at Musicland's Media Play and On Cue outlets rose 5.9% in the third quarter ended September 30, 2000, to $141.3 million. The sales gain was dampened by lower than expected sales of music titles, and comparable-store sales were down 1.9% in the period. Sales were aided by the opening of six On Cue stores in the quarter. Musicland also reported that sales from its e-commerce initiative hit $1.5 million in the quarter, compared to $200,000 in last year's third quarter. The loss associated with its e-commerce operation was $2.1 million compared to $1.0 million in the third period of 1999. To drive more traffic to its four Web sites, the company said it has "dramatically" increased the number of titles that can be purchased through the sites to about 500,000. --Staff Contest Seeks Fresh Love StoryIn the latest example of media convergence, a magazine, book publisher and Web site have teamed up to conduct a contest called "The Greatest Love Story Never Told." The brainchild of author/agent Caroline Upcher, the contest is looking for an unheralded real-life love story that Upcher will then turn into a novel that will be published by HarperCollins in e-book form in July 2001 and, later, as a print book by Morrow/Avon. An article about the grand-prize winner will be published in the July 2001 issue of Redbook. Since the contest was first announced in Redbook and on the site of the third party in the promotion, Women.com, more than 1,800 submissions have been received. Deadline for the 350-word entry, which can be submitted via the Web sites of all three participating companies, is
--Staff 3rd-Quarter Results Sales, Earnings Improve At Simon & SchusterSimon & Schuster stemmed two quarters of disappointing earnings by posting a 25.5% increase in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), to $27.6 million, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2000. Sales in the quarter rose 3%, to $167.0 million. Jack Romanos, S&S president, said the "main drivers" during the quarter were improved performances in the Pocket Books and the children's divisions. He told PW that Pocket performed better "across the board," adding that he believes the company "has a better grip on the mass market paperback situation-- we're making the most out of a difficult market." The children's division benefited from both higher backlist and frontlist sales. Higher licensing fees, as well as lower product costs, also contributed to the improved bottom line Despite the strong showing in the third quarter, for the nine-month period sales were down 4.1%, to $413 million, and EBITDA was off 22.9%, to $34.4 million. Romanos, however, was upbeat about the fourth quarter. "I expect to close strong. We have a solid list and high expectations," he said. --Jim Milliot Promotion J.K. Rowling D s Toronto A nervous J.K. Rowling quickly read a passage from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at Toronto's SkyDome stadium last week in what organizers are calling the largest author reading in the world. Although the International Festival of Authors, the organizers of the event, would not release official numbers, thousands of children, parents and teachers took the morning off to hear Rowling read. Before the reading, children clad in wizard capes and hats yelled with delight and anticipation, madly waving posters and signs that read, "We Love You, Harry." Kenneth Oppel opened for Rowling, reading from his novel Silverwing, about a bat named Shade. Oppel's Silverwing and Sunwing have sold more than 300,000 copies in Canada. Then Canadian author and Governor General's Award-winner Tim Wynne-Jones read from his latest novel, The Boy in the Burning House. Although the crowd was restless during Oppel's and Wynne-Jones's readings, everyone hushed when Rowling took the stage and proceeded to read an excerpt from chapter four of her latest book. After the reading, Rowling quickly raised a few questions that she is asked most often and answered them. She said her next book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Ph nix, will not be out next July, as previously expected, since she took a break after the last book and is still writing. In response to the frequent question "Do you feel your books encourage Satanism?" Rowling said her common response is "No, you are a lunatic." Earlier in the week, about 400 people feted Rowling at Toronto's Royal York Hotel. Children and parents who paid $500 ($331) a person could meet Rowling and wait in line for her to sign their menus. Rowling was in Toronto as part of the International Festival of Authors, an annual event that draws critically acclaimed authors from around the world. --Leah Eichler
Schwartz NamedCIO At HarperCollins HarperCollins has appointed Richard Schwartz chief information officer. Schwartz, who began at HC earlier this month, had most recently served as CIO at Young & Rubicam. At HC, Schwartz reports to Glenn D'Agnes, executive v-p and chief operating officer, and also has been named to the publisher's executive committee. In other HarperCollins personnel moves, David Wolfson, director of sales and operations for the international division, has been named a vice-president. Wolfson oversees export sales to all HC companies worldwide as well as to the entire international market. Alexandra Jack-son, managing editor of Hearst Books International, has been named associate publisher. Hearst Books, a former Morrow imprint, publishes 75 to 90 illustrated books per year that are sold mainly to clients outside the U.S. --Staff Literary Prizes WhitingAwards The Giles Whiting Foundation has announced the 10 recipients of the 2000 Whiting Writers Awards. The foundation awards $35,000 each to emerging writers of exceptional talent and promise. The winners are fiction writers Colson Whitehead, Robert Cohen, Samantha Gillison, Lily King and John McManus; p ts Albert Mobilio, James Thomas Stevens and Claude Wilkinson; nonfiction writer Andrew X. Pham; and playwright Kelly Stuart. The awards were presented at a ceremony last week in New York City. --Staff (News, Sept. 25).Distribution Matthewsto Buy Login Assets Matthews Medical Books has emerged as the leading candidate to acquire most of the assets from Login Brothers' medical-book distribution company. Last month, Login reported that it was liquidating the assets of its medical division (News, Sept. 25). Matthews has made a proposal to the bankruptcy court overseeing the liquidation process, and Matthews's CEO John Marcus said he is hopeful that the court will approve the purchase by the end of November. Matthews is acquiring "certain fixed assets" of the company, Marcus said. The company has also taken on several former Login employees, including six sales reps. --Staff RetailResults Varsity GroupCuts Losses Varsity Group reported last week that total revenues for the third quarter ended September 30, 2000, jumped 62.5%, to $11.7 million, while its net loss was cut to $7 million from $14.1 million in last year's third period. The reduced loss was the result of higher sales, plus a drop in operating expenses from $21 million to $18.9 million. Although Varsity is making the transition from an e-retailer of textbooks to a college marketing service, book sales still accounted for the majority of Varsity's revenues in the quarter; book sales rose 50%, to $10 million, in the quarter, compared to $1 million in revenues from marketing services. For the first nine months of the year total revenues increased 193%, to $26.1 million, while the net loss stood at $32.9 million, compared to $19.2 million in the same period in 1999. --Staff Obituary Rembar Dead at 85 Charles Rembar, a lawyer whose defense of First Amendment rights led to greater freedom to publish, died October 24 at 85. Rembar was a lawyer for the SEC before becoming a partner in Rembar, Wolf and Curtis. He was the principal defense attorney in several noted literary censorship cases in the 1960s, including cases involving Lady Chatterley's Lover and Fanny Hill, and ultimately prevailed, establishing the principle that a work could not be prosecuted as obscene if it had any literary value. His book The End of Censorship in 1968 further elaborated the theme. --Staff | ||||
News Shorts
Oct 30, 2000
A version of this article appeared in the 10/30/2000 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline:
