Bookstore Sales Dipped In January

Bookstore sales fell to $1.49 billion in January, down 0.8% from $1.5 billion in the same month last year, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. This drop followed a 4.3% decline in bookstore sales in 2014, compared to 2013.

Profits Fell 12% At Lagardere Publishing in 2014

Profits at Lagardere Publishing, parent company of Hachette Book Group, fell to €197 million in 2014, down from €223 million in 2013. Earlier this year, Lagardere reported that sales fell slightly. HBG accounted for 24% of Lagardere Publishing’s €2 billion revenue in 2014.

Regnery Purchase Boosts Salem Media

Revenue in the publishing division of Salem Media Group more than doubled in 2014, rising to $26.8 million from $13.2 million in 2013. The jump was thanks to the acquisition, in early 2014, of Eagle Publishing, parent company of Regnery Publishing.

Crown’s Image Books Halts Acquisitions

In the latest change in Crown’s Christian Publishing Group, the company announced it will stop acquiring new titles for its Catholic imprint, Image Books. The decision will result in the departure of Carie Freimuth, v-p, associate publisher, of WaterBrook Multnomah, Convergent, and Image Books. The company will continue to publish Image backlist books.

HC Expands Spanish-Language Publishing Efforts

HarperCollins is creating two new Spanish-language publishing divisions, HarperCollins Español and HarperCollins Iberica, increasing the number of Spanish-language titles it publishes in the Americas, Spain, and Portugal. The expansion will kick off with the publication of a Spanish-language edition of Harper Lee’s second novel, Go Set a Watchman.

China’s Tencent Lit, Trajectory Ink Digital Distribution Pact

Trajectory will distribute more than 200,000 Chinese language e-books to the South and North American marketplaces and export English-language e-books into China via Tencent Literature’s content platform.

Cartier to Step Down at NACS

After 17 years at the helm of the National Association of College Stores in Oberlin, Ohio, CEO Brian E. Cartier, announced that he will retire effective June 30, 2016. The NACS board will immediately begin the search process for finding a new CEO.