Norton Heading To Borders
Larry Norton will join Borders August 31 as senior v-p for merchandising and distribution, a new position. He will be responsible for leading the merchandising team, which includes the buying and planning organization for all Borders and Waldenbooks stores as well as the distribution group. Norton, who had been president of the Simon & Schuster sales and distribution division before leaving two years ago, will report to Anne Kubek, executive v-p of merchandising and marketing.
Paperchase Reorganization
Borders has reorganized its Paperchase U.S. leadership team. Paperchase U.S. president Dick Lynch is leaving the company, and Jim Frering is joining Borders as v-p, Paperchase U.S. Operations. Frering reports to Simon Howes, head of retail at Paperchase U.K., headquartered in London. He was previously with Linens 'N Things. In addition, Teresa Wright, v-p of Paperchase U.S. merchandising, is moving over to the buying team headed by Mike Oprins, Borders Group v-p, merchandising—nonbook.
WTO Finds Against China
In a ruling last week, the World Trade Organization found that China violates international rules by limiting imports of copyrighted material, including books. The decision was applauded by the Association of American Publishers, which said that it hoped the ruling would provide fair access to the Chinese market for American publishers. China can appeal the decision.
Cengage to Rent Textbooks
In December, Cengage Learning will launch CengageBrain.com, a site that will allow students to rent or buy textbooks. The company said pricing will be 40% to 70% lower than the suggested retail price.
Sony Goes ePub; In OverDrive Deal
Sony announced last week that it plans to convert its e-bookstore to the industry-standard ePub format by the end of the year. Adopting an industry-standard formatand Adobe Content Server 4, a cross-platform software solution that protects downloadable e-books, will allow Sony to make its e-bookstore compatible with multiple devices and its Reader devices open to multiple sources for content.
Separately, Sony has signed a marketing agreement with OverDrive through which the two will cross-market the use of the Sony Reader in libraries through the OverDrive network. And Sony has planned an August 25 press conference at which it is expected to announce a new wireless Reader.
Hastings Updates Site
Hastings Entertainment has overhauled its Web site, adding more information on products and improving its search and browsing capabilities, as well improving interactivity with customers. The site, www.gohastings.com, will also make it easier for Hastings to cross-promote its different offerings. The site is not yet offering any e-books for sale.
Obituary: Michael Viner
Michael Viner, who as head of Dove Audio helped develop spoken-word audio into a mainstream product, has died. He was 65. After leaving Dove, Viner founded New Millennium, using many Dove titles to help launch the company. After New Millennium filed for bankruptcy in 2004, Viner resigned and started Phoenix Books in June 2005, once again drawing on spoken-word and print titles from his past companies. Phoenix was acquired by Dwight Opperman in November 2007, with Viner staying on as president.
