This year's holiday season could be the best one for book sales in several years, judging from recent remarks from both bookstore chain executives and independent booksellers. At Barnes & Noble, where bookstore sales rose 9.7% in the third quarter, CEO Steve Riggio told analysts in a conference call that he has been "encouraged by the recent vitality" in the book business, while Borders Group CEO Greg Josefowicz said that the "positive momentum" in the book category in the third quarter has carried into November. And independent booksellers contacted by PW said the holiday season is off to an early and strong start.
In reviewing third-quarter results, Riggio observed that the sales gains came without benefit of a new blockbuster title (The Da Vinci Code and South Beach Diet continue to lead the way). Fiction titles by brand-name authors are "selling in numbers we haven't seen in quite awhile," Riggio said. He speculated that the decline in unit sales of brand-name authors late last year and earlier this year may have been a "temporary lull" caused by the extensive media coverage of global events that ate into air time usually devoted to books and authors. In nonfiction, "the left and the right have been battling it out," Riggio said, adding that he expects that trend to accelerate as the presidential campaign draws closer. Children's sales are "thriving," Riggio declared, "going way, way beyond Harry Potter." Halloween sales were up 30%, he said, and sales of teen fiction are "growing by leaps and bounds." He said three children's authors with new titles have the potential to become brands—Cornelia Funke (Inkheart); Christopher Paolini (Eragon); and Madonna (The English Roses and Mr. Peabody's Apples).
Although comparable-store sales at Borders's superstores were up only 1.5% in the third quarter, the same-store sales of books were up 2.5% in the period, with comps up 4% in October. Bestsellers, fitness and diet, politics and mystery were among the top-selling categories in the quarter. Borders executives acknowledged that the forecast of flat comparable-store sales at Borders and Walden was "conservative" and that their internal projections called for some growth in same-store sales. Book comps could increase by 2%, they said. Borders chairman Greg Josefowicz said he was "satisfied" with the increase in book sales, although he admitted he would like to see growth driven more by higher comp-store sales than by store openings.
The weak spot for Borders has been music. Same-store sales fell 12% in the quarter, and while the category showed some improvement in October, executives expect sales to decline again in the fourth quarter. Music accounted for about 16% of superstore sales, down from 18%. While music slips, sales of DVDs have soared with comp-store sales up 20% in the last period, and DVDs now represent about 6% of sales. Borders is gradually reducing the size of its music sections, giving the space to hotter products, particularly DVDs.
Music sales have grown steadily at B&N, Riggio said, which he attributed to the chain's focus on adult consumers. Music and DVD sales accounted for about 8% of sales in the third quarter.
Riggio said B&N has no media campaign planned for the holidays, although the company has improved its in-store merchandising and has increased its direct marketing efforts through direct mail (two million catalogues to Preferred Readers members) and via the Internet. Josefowicz said Borders had "enhanced our marketing efforts" to drive more traffic into its stores.
Indie Perspective
The majority of independent booksellers contacted by PW said that early signs pointed toward a solid holiday season. The four-year-old Main Street Books in Pella, Iowa, said October was its best month ever. "Patrons seem upbeat and excited this holiday season," said manager Lisa Baudoin. Citing strong sales of hardcover literature, cookbooks and the new Far Side title, Alex Pitcher of Black Oak Books, Berkeley, Calif., noted, "I think it's going to be a very good year." More modest expectations were expressed by Andy Graves, owner of Columbia, S.C.'s The Happy Bookseller. The store's holiday kickoff sale was "not the best we've ever had, but better than last year," he said. Matt Desmond, manager of Thackeray's in Toledo, Ohio, said early sales had been "good, and we're crossing our fingers."
