Veteran book buyer Carla Bayha will assume responsibility for Borders’ magazine category on May 19th, as part of a re-shuffling of merchandising responsibilities announced earlier this month by Joanna Goldstein, director of merchandising – newsstand, calendars & games. Dawn Stymiest, who presently magages newsstand at BGI, is moving to a planning role within the retailer’s Children’s group. [...]
O, The Oprah Magazine is releasing “O, The Oprah Magazine Cookbook” with Hyperion on April 29. Although Oprah openly admits that she’s not much a cook and has always publicly struggled with her weight, the cookbook boasts mouth-watering recipes from top chefs like Bobby Flay, Daniel Boulud, and Ina Garten. Even Oprah’s close personal friends [...]
Borders Group Inc.’s biggest shareholder, William A. Ackman, has extended new financing terms to the retailer that further incentivize it to sell to a buyer by October 1st. The terms between BGI and Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management were re-negotiated after other financiers expressed interest in backing Borders. The Wall Street Journal (Apr. 8, 2008) Paid subscription may [...]
HarperCollins plans to upend traditional book publishing practices by launching a new unit that will supply retailers with product on a firm-sale basis, and greatly reduce or eliminitate authors’ advances. There has been no word from retailers yet on the idea, but several years ago, Steve Riggio, CEO of Barnes & Noble, said that he would [...]
News of Borders’ liguidity challenges sent its shares plunging almost 29% yesterday. Commenting on the news about a rival bookseller, Barnes & Noble’s coo, Mitchell S. Klipper, said his company had not been approached by Borders, but would potentially be interested in a purchase. The New York Times The Wall Street Journal Paid subscription may be [...]
Barnes & Noble’s fiscal fourth quarter profits declined 9 percent, the chain reported today. Sales slipped to $1.85 billion for the three-month period ending Feb. 2, from $1.88 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales were also down for the quarter — by 0.5 percent. AP on The New York Times (Mar. 20, 2008)
Facing a near-term liquidity challenge, the nation’s second-largest bookseller considers selling all or part of its operations and, meanwhile, has secured up to $42.5 million in financing to help the chain continue operations. Borders has lost market shares both to online retailers and Wal-Mart in recent years. The New York Times (Mar. 20, 2008)
B&N said recessionary pressures would make 2008 especially challenging, and that earnings per share would be “well below what analysts were expecting.” The Wall Street Journal (Mar. 4, 2008) Paid subscription may be required.
Todd Anderman was named senior vice president, digital media, at Hachette Filipacchi Media. Anderman had been president of Maxim Digital in his most recent, prior position. MediaWeek (Jan. 17, 2008)
CEO George Jones said, “The overall holiday shopping environment was intensely promotional and impacted the bottom line more than we anticipated.” Borders Group Inc. reported a 3.9% increase in holiday sales, but predicted earnings would be flat or down slightly due to the heavy promotions. The Wall Street Journal Subscription required. (Jan. 10, 2008)