Entries tagged with “retail” from Tools of Change for Publishing
Kindle vs Sony Reader: Battle of Distribution Channels
Mac Slocum
September 17, 2008
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The face-off between Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader is broadening beyond tech specs and ebook formats. Now it's a battle of distribution channels.
Sony started selling its PRS-505 e-reader and related accessories in Target stores earlier this week. Sony Readers are also available through Borders, Waterstone's, and Web retailers, including third-party sellers on Amazon.
Amazon's Kindle push is limited to one very large Web channel: Amazon. But will that be enough to seize the e-reader market? Joe Wikert recently touched on this topic:
... Amazon has an awareness problem. They might be thrilled with the device's sales rate up to now. It may have exceeded their greatest expectations. They apparently insist on capturing 100% of the revenue for it though, hence their direct-only sales model. Meanwhile, Sony is chipping away by embracing the EPub format and striking distribution deals with Borders and now Target.
The Web has a tendency to amplify messages beyond their natural boundaries, sometimes to the point where Web hits are incorrectly projected as surefire mainstream blockbusters -- be they devices or movies or anything else that generates ample Web interest. Amazon's reach and the Kindle's technology -- especially its wireless capabilities -- have painted the Kindle as the dominant device in Web circles. But hit products need to resonate with the millions of people who don't pour through RSS feeds on an hourly basis, and Sony knows a thing or two about nurturing the mass market. Assuming we eventually receive confirmed e-reader sales figures, it'll be interesting to see how Amazon's mix of online publicity and Amazon-only distribution stacks up against Sony's traditional approach.
Reinventing the Book and Killing It are Separate Things
Mac Slocum
August 11, 2008
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Richard Cohen has a bone to pick with Amazon, the Kindle, digital books, and anyone who threatens the welfare of bookstores, children and unknown literature. From Cohen's Washington Post column:
... over at Amazon they are inadvertently thinking of ways to make the world worse for children and for the grown-ups who love them to pieces. What Jeffrey P. Bezos, Amazon's founder, wants more than anything is to do away with the book as we know it. "Jeff once said that he couldn't imagine anything more important than reinventing the book," said Steven Kessel, one of Bezos's top guys. Kessel is in charge of digitizing everything in sight.
Nothing more important than reinventing the book? Not ending world hunger? Not taking Rush Limbaugh off the air? None of these? What's wrong with the book? I understand that it's bulky and expensive to ship and that it entails the consumption of paper, which is probably not green, but then what is? The book has been around for a very long time (Google the exact number of years, please), and I love it so.
Cohen's column adheres to the "book lover overreaction" we've discussed previously. Market forces and changing consumer tastes may indeed signal the end of traditional bookstores, and that's something to lament and fight against. But this idea that digital books have been set loose by entrepreneurial masterminds -- diabolical sorts intent on destroying the print universe -- is overwrought. "Reinventing" the book is not synonymous with "killing the print book." Digital books are nothing more than alternative delivery mechanisms for content. Their intent (if ebooks can have intent) is to expand choice, not eradicate the printed volume.
I can't tell if Cohen is saying goodbye to print books or bookstores or some combination of the two. His column is clearly a cathartic exercise, not a market analysis, but the association he seems to make between a downturn in bookstores and the rise of digital books is incorrect. Bookstores are in decline partly because consumers are purchasing their core product -- print books -- through online retailers like Amazon. Ebooks may eventually achieve widespread adoption and, by extension, lead to the shuttering of traditional bookstores, but that's not currently the case.
Mobile Barcode Scanners and Retail Stores on Collision Course
Peter Brantley
July 15, 2008
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Ilya Vedrashko points out a near-term future scenario in which retail sites are going to have to entirely rethink what integration into online services means:
The obvious future of in-store experience: you find something you like, reach into your pocket for a small device, scan the barcode, and the device tells you whether and where the same product is available for a lower price. Brick-and-mortar stores become little more than showrooms for merchandise bought elsewhere.
This future just got one step closer today [July 12] with the release of an iPhone app Checkout SmartShop, "a shopping assistant meant to help you find online and local prices when you're out and about shopping." For now, you still need to type in the UPS code; they are working on converting the iPhone camera into a barcode scanner.
UK Book Chain Installing Espresso POD Machines
Mac Slocum
June 23, 2008
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UK book retailer Blackwell will test the Espresso Book Machine at one of its locations this fall with an eye toward installing the print-on-demand device at additional stores. From a Blackwell press release:
Blackwell CEO Vince Gunn -- "From a retailer's point of view, even allowing for the first-generation technology and publisher challenges, this is a fantastic opportunity -- sell to demand with no risk to inventory and an opportunity to create incremental revenue streams for ourselves and publishers."
Borders Sells Stores in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore
Mac Slocum
June 5, 2008
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From Shelf Awareness:
Borders Group has sold its stores in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore to A&R Whitcoulls, the major Australian and New Zealand bookseller that is owned by private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners. The deal is valued at US $104 million (about $90 million now and up to $14 million in deferred payments next year) and should close next week.
Amazon: Kindle Owners Buy More Books
Mac Slocum
May 30, 2008
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In press releases and in Book Expo sessions, Amazon is touting an interesting figure: consumers who purchase a Kindle increase their overall book purchases through Amazon by an average of 2.6 times.
That "2.6 times" figure doesn't mean Kindle customers are boosting their print purchases, but it does go a short ways toward quelling ebook cannibalization concerns.
At a session earlier this morning, an Amazon rep said the Kindle purchase uptick could be associated with the device's light weight and wireless downloads. Rather than reaching for their Blackberries, the rep said, customers kill downtime with their Kindles.
Path to Web Retail Getting Easier for Independent Music Labels
Peter Brantley
May 9, 2008
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This is an interesting story from the music world. The implication is that the barrier to retail is dropping in music, which has different hurdles than publishing.
The Independent Online Distribution Alliance, better known as IODA, launched itself in 2003 to help independent labels, artists and others in the music industry make the leap from physical to digital. One of its functions has been to act as a conduit to online retailers, such as Apple's iTunes Store, eMusic, Napster and Rhapsody. Now it's giving its members the option of being retailers, too.
Specifically, IODA is supplying labels and artists the technology to plug downloadable music stores into their websites. Unlike some earlier efforts to sell downloads, the stores integrate seamlessly into the sites with other e-commerce efforts ...
Studio Notes DVD Sales Increase Amidst Digital Distribution
Mac Slocum
May 2, 2008
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Recent developments in the movie world suggest that digital delivery and availability help the bottom line.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes announced during a recent investor call that Warner Brothers will soon release DVDs and video-on-demand (VOD) titles on the same day. The company -- like all Hollywood studios -- has long employed a multi-week delay between a film's DVD release and its availability through on-demand rental systems. However, interesting results from a Warner Brothers pilot program could mark the end of this staggered system. From The New York Times:
Warner Brothers has been experimenting with the new approach [simultaneous release] for the last few months. It has found that DVD rentals only fell by 3 percent to 5 percent and sales of DVDs actually increased, perhaps because of the increased promotion and fewer used rental discs available for sale.
Apple and other movie studios are already taking note.
A portion of Warners' increased DVD sales could plug in to the "souvenir" purchasing seen in other industries. At its core, this concept is driven by a simple chain of events: digital distribution boosts accessibility, which increases awareness and -- for a subset of the viewing population -- inspires customers to purchase physical copies of a film.
This line of thinking (digital distribution + accessibility + awareness = revenue) drives envelope-pushing initiatives, like intentional distribution through P2P networks. On the publishing side, it's also why the Kindle's killer app resides in the device's built-in Whispernet connectivity, which makes it easy for consumers to find, sample and purchase material. Some of these same people will likely convert into hard-copy customers as well.
News Roundup: Google's Book Scanning, Kindle's Future Path, Authorship Increases Exponentially, Amazon Takes on "Amazon Tax," 5 DRM Messes
Mac Slocum
May 2, 2008
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A Glimpse into Google's Book Scanning
Google doesn't divulge specifics about its proprietary book scanning set-up, but the Associated Press offers a brief look into the manual scanning process used for old/fragile titles. (Continue reading)
Kindle's All-Encompassing Future Path
Jeff Nolan writes about the path of the Kindle:
It's clear that [Jeff] Bezos sees a day when any and all content can be delivered to a Kindle and not only won't Amazon have to store inventory, they also won't have to ship anything but the Kindle itself to support their book business. In that light, the Kindle totally fits and is an impressive disruptive strategy to boot. Having said that, we have 550 years of mechanical printing to overcome and in terms of simplicity and cost, it's hard to beat a hard copy book.
Book Reading Down, Book Writing Up
In a New York Times Sunday Book Review essay, Rachel Donadio notes the interesting discrepancy between book reading and book writing. Namely, people aren't reading, but they're certainly doing a lot of writing. (Continue reading)
Amazon Challenges New York's "Amazon Tax"
As expected, Amazon is challenging New York's recently passed sales tax statute. From Amazon's filed complaint (pdf):
Because some independently operated, New York-based websites post advertisements with links to Amazon and are compensated for these advertisements, Amazon is now presumed to have engaged in "solicitation" under this statue ... despite the fact that Amazon lacks any physical presence in New York and that no solicitation by Amazon actually exists. This presumption is effectively irrebuttable. Accordingly, Amazon seeks a declaratory judgment that the Statute is invalid ...
In the wake of MSN Music's authorization decision, Steve O'Hear from last100 looks at five DRM-based businesses that left customers high and dry. (Continue reading)
Amazon Challenges New York's "Amazon Tax"
Mac Slocum
May 1, 2008
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As expected, Amazon is challenging New York's recently passed sales tax statute. From Amazon's filed complaint (pdf):
Because some independently operated, New York-based websites post advertisements with links to Amazon and are compensated for these advertisements, Amazon is now presumed to have engaged in "solicitation" under this statue ... despite the fact that Amazon lacks any physical presence in New York and that no solicitation by Amazon actually exists. This presumption is effectively irrebuttable. Accordingly, Amazon seeks a declaratory judgment that the Statute is invalid ...
(Via Shelf Awareness)
Bookstores Confront Fake Author Scam
Mac Slocum
April 30, 2008
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Scammers claiming to be authors are trying to pluck money from California booksellers. From the L.A. Times:
... slowly but surely, stores are being contacted by people claiming to be someone they're not and trying to persuade the bookstore staff to send them money. It's bewildering to a community that operates largely on trust and personal relationships.
The "authors" call retailers with a sob story -- their car was impounded, their computer was stolen, etc. -- and they ask the bookstore owners to wire funds to help them out of their jams.
The onslaught of digital scams from deposed Nigerian princes must have prepared the booksellers for this latest scam; all of the interviewed retailers caught on before sending money.
(Via Publishers Weekly)
Tim O'Reilly: Amazon Has Publishers in its Sights
Andrew Savikas
April 17, 2008
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Over on the the O'Reilly Radar blog, Tim O'Reilly offers a warning for publishers, and cautions Amazon against "irreparably" harming the publishing ecosystem:
It is a free-market economy, and competition is the name of the game. But as Amazon's market power increases, it needs to be mindful of whether its moves, even those that may be good for the company in the short term, are ultimately destructive of the ecosystem on which they depend. I believe that they are heading in that direction, and if they succeed with some of their initiatives, they will wake up one day to discover that they've sown the seeds of their own destruction, just as Microsoft did in the 1990s.
Amazon Growth Fuels Online's Book Market Share
Mac Slocum
April 16, 2008
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Online retailers claim 21-30 percent of the consumer trade book market, according to two recent surveys. Publishers Weekly says much of this growth comes from Amazon:
In discussing their 2007 results, both Penguin's David Shanks and Simon & Schuster's Carolyn Reidy said the e-tailer was their fastest-growing account last year, while Quarto Group chairman Laurence Orbach noted that sales of its MBI Distribution subsidiary have increased by more than 10 percent at Amazon in each of the last three years.
New York Eyes Amazon Affiliates in Tax Move
Mac Slocum
April 14, 2008
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The Amazon affiliates program could yield millions in revenue for New York state, and it won't come from customer referrals.
From the New York Times:
... people owe taxes on what they buy regardless of whom they buy it from. But the seller only has an obligation to collect those taxes (and thus the only time taxes are ever actually paid) when the seller has a physical presence in the state of the purchase.
The state is proposing defining Amazon’s affiliates -- Web sites that earn commissions by referring customers to it -- as a physical presence.
Out of state retailers have until June 1 to register with New York as vendors, reports the New York Post. Companies that don't comply could open themselves to back taxes and audits. However, both the Post and the Times say New York's tax measure will likely be tested in court.
Small Publishers See Similarities in New HarperCollins Unit
Mac Slocum
April 11, 2008
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Speaking with the The New York Observer, small publishers say they've for years employed the author/retail strategies recently embraced by HarperCollins' new imprint.
"This is exactly what we've been talking about and attempting to do to varying degrees all along,’" said Richard Nash, publisher of Soft Skull Press. “But I don’t think they [HarperCollins] were like, 'oh, let’s look at what independent publishers do and steal it!'
(Via Publishers Weekly.)
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
Mac Slocum
April 11, 2008
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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 generate dollars, is that sustainable across the whole economy? Or would we really be reducing the overall amount of money flowing into the digital market and therefore to the overall labor force?" (Continue reading ...)
An Educated Guess at Kindle's Impact
Kindle sales figures aren't available and the devices are still sold out, but the Associated Press notes a connection between the Kindle's Nov. '07 release and an uptick in ebook sales across the industry:
Publishing officials are reluctant to discuss sales figures, but say that they have seen double digit increases in e-book sales since the Kindle's release, including renewed interest in downloads on the Sony Reader.
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 for the kill with big discounts on the latest Stephen King or John Grisham page-turners. They are also engaging the culturally connected, targeting readers who delight in cocktail or book-club conversation about the latest titles. About 34 percent of book buyers made purchases at such locations last year, according to the Simmons National Consumer Survey.
Publishers and Amazon Locked in Price War
The UK's Times Online says Penguin, Bloomsbury and other publishers are trying to woo customers with steep discounts on their own Web sites. Amazon isn't happy about the cuts:
There are fears that Amazon may retaliate by regarding a publisher’s online price as the recommended retail price and applying its trading terms to that. If a publisher discounts a £20 book to £15 online and Amazon has a contract for a 50 percent discount on the full price, Amazon would pay the company £7.50 instead of £10. Publishers say that this would be unfair and could ultimately drive up prices.
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.
Converted Church Sells Books, Attracts Tourists
Mac Slocum
April 10, 2008
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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 long, high nave, together with a fashionable if somewhat noisy cafe in the choir, works extraordinarily well. Church and bookshop look as if they might have been made for one another.
Pictures and further details are available at thecoolhunter.net and Elsevier Retail.
(Via Shelf Awareness.)
Borders Gets a Better Deal
Mac Slocum
April 8, 2008
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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
Mac Slocum
April 8, 2008
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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 for the kill with big discounts on the latest Stephen King or John Grisham page-turners. They are also engaging the culturally connected, targeting readers who delight in cocktail or book-club conversation about the latest titles. About 34 percent of book buyers made purchases at such locations last year, according to the Simmons National Consumer Survey.
Borders Prototype Store Shows Off Digital Center
Mac Slocum
March 26, 2008
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Borders' move toward digital services is on display in the company's Ann Arbor, Mich. prototype store.
The store's music section has been downgraded to make room for a new digital center that offers access to audio books, personal publishing via Lulu.com, photo printing, music downloads, and genealogy tools. Borders is also displaying related products, including Sony's ebook reader, digital cameras, and GPS devices.
Ebooks aren't specifically mentioned in any of the digital center coverage, but Borders and Sony recently teamed on a co-branded ebook store that is only accessible through customized software.
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