Macmillan plans to use Ingram Content Group's print on demand and fulfillment services for many of its "long tail"--or low-volume--titles. Macmillan, which includes Holt, Farrar, Straus & Giroux and St. Martin's Press, will continue to provide traditional distribution services from its main warehouse in Virginia.
Macmillan senior v-p and COO Peter Garabedian said that "traditional methods of solving the logistics and print business challenges cannot remain the same. Ingram's unique and fully integrated solution, offering physical fulfillment combined with a print on demand solution for titles that no longer make sense to print and hold, helps us reduce our overall inventory commitment and frees up capacity in our distribution center as well as resources to invest in the future success of our company."
Skip Prichard, president and CEO of Ingram Content Group, emphasized that the deal allows Macmillan "to use Ingram as another part of its physical distribution network. They can choose what titles to put in and take out depending on what makes sense for them."
He said that Ingram is in discussion "with numerous publishers about a range of models" that include elements of the Macmillan approach. A key part of what Ingram offers: the publisher will ship its stock of slower-moving titles to Ingram. When the stock sells down, books will be printed on demand. "If there is a spike in demand, Lightning Source could meet the need," Prichard said. "If it's a huge spike, the publisher can bring the book back into its distribution system, do an offset print run and bring those copies to its warehouse."
At a time with tremendous financial pressures because of the recession and the need to invest in digital initiatives, Ingram can offer a variety of solutions to lower inventory management and distribution costs, Prichard stressed. "Publishers will have to make some tough choices in the next five years, and publishers don't have unlimited money to make choices. They will have to look at new ways to invest." In effect, Ingram, which Prichard said has invested tens of millions of dollars in its digital and physical distribution efforts in the past few years, is offering to take over some inventory management and distribution for medium- and large-sized publishers that have never contemplated such an approach before. "They can look at Ingram as an extension of tehir own warehousing system," Prichard said. A few publishers, he continued, have gone so far as to talk of no longer having warehouses.
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The Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street column voted for none of the above in the Burkle vs. Riggio proxy battle for control of Barnes & Noble, saying that shareholders "agonizing over how to vote... would almost certainly be better off simply selling rather than voting."
The column continued: "the reality is that neither Ron Burkle nor B&N Chairman Leonard Riggio can do much to improve B&N's prospects in the next few years. Bookselling is being remade, both by the shift of physical book sales to Amazon.com and of books in general to electronic form. As has proved true in both music and video, such a transition is bad news for bricks-and-mortar retailers. If B&N survives, it will be as a much smaller player."
Still, the column noted one positive for Riggio: B&N has "arguably done a good job developing its own e-reader." At the same time, it argued that the chairman probably won't cancel the dividend to make more digital investments or close stores as physical book sales decline. "Indeed, last year's purchase of the B&N college-textbook chain from Mr. Riggio increased B&N's exposure to stores."
And although Burkle hasn't offered "any bright ideas about dealing with the digital transition," he can "bring some much-needed scrutiny to the Riggio team's management."
---
In the latest battle of the letters, B&N chairman Len Riggio has sent a missive to shareholders about what he called "a fight we did not ask for, and do not deserve."
He reiterated many of the arguments against Ron Burkle's slate and the anti-poison pill proposal and summed up: "As you well know, the book industry--as well as all industries that deal with printed matter--is undergoing a rapid transformation. Rather than trying to stem the inevitable march of technology, we view this development as an enormous opportunity for Barnes & Noble; first to continue to gain our share as the world's largest retail booksellers, second to use our storefronts to sell digital devices, and finally to profit greatly from our growing digital business. In fact, in the eleven months since we launched our e-Reading platform, we have already attained a 20% share of the digital marketplace for books. This compared to our 18% share of the physical book space. And we're just getting started. Speaking for myself, I've never been more excited about our prospects since the first day we opened our doors in 1965."
---
Cool idea of the day: next Tuesday, September 28, Square Books, Oxford, Miss., begins a weekly book chat series at 10 a.m., at which a Square Books bookseller presents new books and news of the book world in 20 minutes or less. As the store noted, coffee's on the house, and owner Richard Howorth "might even give a book away, and he's never done that."
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Book trailer of the day: My Name Is Not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky).
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WCCO-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul showcased "10 of the Twin Cities' Best Independent Bookstores," noting that "the reality of the marketplace means that now, more than ever, your corner independent book dealer needs your business.... So the next time you feel like scouring Amazon.com's selection of three-cent used paperbacks (which will bounce right back up in price once shipping charges are added to the equation), remember this collection of hometown gems and consider giving them a visit."
Macmillan senior v-p and COO Peter Garabedian said that "traditional methods of solving the logistics and print business challenges cannot remain the same. Ingram's unique and fully integrated solution, offering physical fulfillment combined with a print on demand solution for titles that no longer make sense to print and hold, helps us reduce our overall inventory commitment and frees up capacity in our distribution center as well as resources to invest in the future success of our company."
Skip Prichard, president and CEO of Ingram Content Group, emphasized that the deal allows Macmillan "to use Ingram as another part of its physical distribution network. They can choose what titles to put in and take out depending on what makes sense for them."
He said that Ingram is in discussion "with numerous publishers about a range of models" that include elements of the Macmillan approach. A key part of what Ingram offers: the publisher will ship its stock of slower-moving titles to Ingram. When the stock sells down, books will be printed on demand. "If there is a spike in demand, Lightning Source could meet the need," Prichard said. "If it's a huge spike, the publisher can bring the book back into its distribution system, do an offset print run and bring those copies to its warehouse."
At a time with tremendous financial pressures because of the recession and the need to invest in digital initiatives, Ingram can offer a variety of solutions to lower inventory management and distribution costs, Prichard stressed. "Publishers will have to make some tough choices in the next five years, and publishers don't have unlimited money to make choices. They will have to look at new ways to invest." In effect, Ingram, which Prichard said has invested tens of millions of dollars in its digital and physical distribution efforts in the past few years, is offering to take over some inventory management and distribution for medium- and large-sized publishers that have never contemplated such an approach before. "They can look at Ingram as an extension of tehir own warehousing system," Prichard said. A few publishers, he continued, have gone so far as to talk of no longer having warehouses.
---
The column continued: "the reality is that neither Ron Burkle nor B&N Chairman Leonard Riggio can do much to improve B&N's prospects in the next few years. Bookselling is being remade, both by the shift of physical book sales to Amazon.com and of books in general to electronic form. As has proved true in both music and video, such a transition is bad news for bricks-and-mortar retailers. If B&N survives, it will be as a much smaller player."
Still, the column noted one positive for Riggio: B&N has "arguably done a good job developing its own e-reader." At the same time, it argued that the chairman probably won't cancel the dividend to make more digital investments or close stores as physical book sales decline. "Indeed, last year's purchase of the B&N college-textbook chain from Mr. Riggio increased B&N's exposure to stores."
And although Burkle hasn't offered "any bright ideas about dealing with the digital transition," he can "bring some much-needed scrutiny to the Riggio team's management."
---
In the latest battle of the letters, B&N chairman Len Riggio has sent a missive to shareholders about what he called "a fight we did not ask for, and do not deserve."
He reiterated many of the arguments against Ron Burkle's slate and the anti-poison pill proposal and summed up: "As you well know, the book industry--as well as all industries that deal with printed matter--is undergoing a rapid transformation. Rather than trying to stem the inevitable march of technology, we view this development as an enormous opportunity for Barnes & Noble; first to continue to gain our share as the world's largest retail booksellers, second to use our storefronts to sell digital devices, and finally to profit greatly from our growing digital business. In fact, in the eleven months since we launched our e-Reading platform, we have already attained a 20% share of the digital marketplace for books. This compared to our 18% share of the physical book space. And we're just getting started. Speaking for myself, I've never been more excited about our prospects since the first day we opened our doors in 1965."
---
Cool idea of the day: next Tuesday, September 28, Square Books, Oxford, Miss., begins a weekly book chat series at 10 a.m., at which a Square Books bookseller presents new books and news of the book world in 20 minutes or less. As the store noted, coffee's on the house, and owner Richard Howorth "might even give a book away, and he's never done that."
---
Book trailer of the day: My Name Is Not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky).
---
WCCO-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul showcased "10 of the Twin Cities' Best Independent Bookstores," noting that "the reality of the marketplace means that now, more than ever, your corner independent book dealer needs your business.... So the next time you feel like scouring Amazon.com's selection of three-cent used paperbacks (which will bounce right back up in price once shipping charges are added to the equation), remember this collection of hometown gems and consider giving them a visit."
The featured bookstores:
Birchbark Books & Native Arts
("owned by Minnesota author Louise Erdrich, who has infused her
bookstore with an intimate charm and a palpable sense of Native pride.")
Booksmart ("one of the store's most tangible pleasures is in scaling down that staircase into what seems like a bootlegger's den, only one stocked with comics and Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality while the more palatable literature sees the light of day above.")
Common Good Books ("Garrison Keillor's sparkling, subterranean corner... invites bookworms to dig a little deeper as they peruse, with incongruously naturally lit tunnels lined with as many books as one could possibly want.")
Magers & Quinn ("an Uptown staple for the better part of two decades, and specializes in, well, everything.")
Micawber's Books ("A cozy little jewel with no shortage of brainy offerings, they have been offering the latest bestsellers since 1972.")
Once Upon A Crime ("Mystery junkies everywhere can rejoice in this shady Twin Cities establishment. I mean that as a compliment.")
The Red Balloon Bookshop ("Generations in, generations out. Sunrise, sunset. There's no question the store itself is filled with anything a literate child could ever want...")
Sixth Chamber Used Books ("For 15 years now, Sixth Chamber has offered some of the best selection Twin Cities used bookstores have to offer.")
True Colors Bookstore ("Feminists and members of the LGBT community should rightly feel proud and fortunate to have such a well-established gem.")
Wild Rumpus ("If there's a Reading Rainbow in real-life, I bet the Wild Rumpus exists at the end of it.")
Booksmart ("one of the store's most tangible pleasures is in scaling down that staircase into what seems like a bootlegger's den, only one stocked with comics and Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality while the more palatable literature sees the light of day above.")
Common Good Books ("Garrison Keillor's sparkling, subterranean corner... invites bookworms to dig a little deeper as they peruse, with incongruously naturally lit tunnels lined with as many books as one could possibly want.")
Magers & Quinn ("an Uptown staple for the better part of two decades, and specializes in, well, everything.")
Micawber's Books ("A cozy little jewel with no shortage of brainy offerings, they have been offering the latest bestsellers since 1972.")
Once Upon A Crime ("Mystery junkies everywhere can rejoice in this shady Twin Cities establishment. I mean that as a compliment.")
The Red Balloon Bookshop ("Generations in, generations out. Sunrise, sunset. There's no question the store itself is filled with anything a literate child could ever want...")
Sixth Chamber Used Books ("For 15 years now, Sixth Chamber has offered some of the best selection Twin Cities used bookstores have to offer.") True Colors Bookstore ("Feminists and members of the LGBT community should rightly feel proud and fortunate to have such a well-established gem.")
Wild Rumpus ("If there's a Reading Rainbow in real-life, I bet the Wild Rumpus exists at the end of it.")