Blog

19 Jul

Penguin to Use 'Party Plan' Method to Sell Direct to Consumers

In late June, Penguin Group (USA) announced the launch of a new direct sales division to be aimed primarily at the children's market, with a particular emphasis on preschool and young readers, called "Family Books at Home." Family Books will sell books via a network of "independent consultants," who will utilize a "party plan" method of selling books at gatherings in private homes. Penguin hired former Avon.com president and general manager Len Edwards as the new division's president of direct selling.

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15 Jul

May Bookstore Sales Disappointing

Sluggish bookstore sales in May, coming in the wake of flat sales in April, were disappointing -- especially when contrasted with the healthy performance of overall retail for the same period. May 2004 bookstore sales of $1,095 million lagged 4.2 percent behind the $1,143 million of May 2003.

By comparison, overall retail sales of $346 billion for May 2004 was 6.8 percent better than the $324 billion for May of 2003.

2003-2004 RETAIL SALES for BOOKSTORES (unadjusted)

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15 Jul

Ipsos Finds Consumer Spending on Children's Books Increased in a Stagnant Market

Consumers spent more on children's books in 2003 than for each of the previous seven years, according to Ipsos BookTrends(SM), which announced results of 2003's key findings about the children's book industry in June. The report, based on continuous reporting from a panel of 16,000 households, found that consumer spending on books purchased for children under 14 years old increased nearly 11 percent in 2003 over 2002.

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15 Jul

DIESEL Revs Up

John Evans and Alison Reid, co-owners of DIESEL, A Bookstore, in Oakland, California, recently opened a second DIESEL, in Malibu, which had been without a bookstore for years. Evans and Reid reported that the Malibu community was thrilled to have the store, which has been "doing gangbusters" since its Memorial Day weekend opening.

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