"retail" entries
Roundup: Free Doesn't Always Apply, Kindle's Ebook Impact, Indie Bookstores and Chains Face Same Competitor, UK Publishers and Amazon in Price Battle, Borders Gets a Better Deal
Free Doesn't Work for Every Company From Peter Brantley: Hank Williams of Why Does Everything Suck? does an informal economic critique of Chris Anderson's "things tend to free" hypothesis: "Some of you will argue that Google does fine based purely on advertising. But just because one company can commoditize everyone else's work and make pennies on things that used to…
Converted Church Sells Books, Attracts Tourists
Here's a new spin on retail: "Bookstore as tourist attraction." The Selexyz Dominicanen bookstore in Maastricht, Netherlands — housed in a reworked 13th-century Dominican church — is attracting both book patrons and tourists. From The Guardian: The beautifully restored building is an attraction in its own right, and yet the installation of a towering, three-storey black steel bookstack in the…
Borders Gets a Better Deal
Borders has revised its $42.5 million loan with Pershing Square Capital Management. According to The Bookseller, the loan interest rate has been reduced from 12.5 percent to 9.8 percent. Pershing has also boosted its backup offer for Borders' international operations to $135 million….
Independent Booksellers and Chains Face Big-Box Competitors
Looks like the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" maxim is coming in to play with the increased attention big-box retailers are giving to books. Small indie booksellers and chain stores, such as Borders and B&N, are feeling the pinch from big-box store markdowns. From the Washington Post: Costco, Target, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club aren't just moving in…
Borders Prototype Store Shows Off Digital Center
Borders' move toward digital services is on display in the company's Ann Arbor, Mich. prototype store.
Borders Stores Turn Back on Long Tail
Borders is using its limited shelf space to give top selling books the "face-out" treatment. Poor sellers need not apply.
What iTunes as #2 Retailer Might Mean for Publishers
The AP is reporting that iTunes is now behind only Wal-Mart when measuring sales by unit volume, putting it ahead of Target and Best Buy: [Market research group] NPD said that iTunes moved into second place due to the amount of music it sold during 2007, which was based on a 12-track CD equivalency for song downloads. There are…