BTW News Briefs

After 2006 Losses, Borders Attempts to Revitalize the Brand

On March 22, Borders Group, Inc., after announcing that it had posted a consolidated fourth quarter net loss of $73.6 million, outlined a long-term strategic plan that the company hopes will "revitalize, refocus, and ultimately reinvent the company" and make it profitable once again. As part of this effort, Borders will debut a proprietary e-commerce site in early 2008, thereby ending its alliance with Amazon.com.

The chain retailer, which recorded a net loss of $151.3 million in 2006 compared to net income of $101.0 million in 2005, is hoping to rejuvenate the domestic Borders superstore business to achieve consolidated EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margins of five to six percent, compared to 1.8 percent in 2006, and improve inventory turns of two times compared to 1.6 times in 2006.

In addition, the bookseller will look to transform domestic superstores while significantly reducing investment in segments that have not provided a "satisfactory return." Toward that end, Borders will cut the number of Waldenbooks stores from 564 at the close of 2006 to about 300 by the end of 2008 and will "explore strategic alternatives" for the majority of its international stores. The company also plans to leverage the Borders Rewards program, which currently has 17 million members, and will soon announce modifications to the program in an effort to improve its profitability.

Among other initiatives, the retailer will refocus its investment in merchandising systems, will continue its investment in Seattle's Best Coffee and Paperchase, and is also planning to publish exclusive and proprietary books.

Said George Jones, Borders Group CEO, in a statement: "Our company's performance has fallen short in an industry that is increasingly competitive, technology driven, and price sensitive.... We have begun to take decisive steps to once again put Borders on a path to profitable growth."

Ian McEwan First Author in Powell's Film Series

British author Ian McEwan will be the first author to be featured in the film project, "Out of the Book," created by Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, as reported in the New York Times. The New Yorker will premier the 23-minute film at a party in New York City during BookExpo America. Two weeks later, Powell's will offer the film, free of charge, to other independent booksellers as the centerpiece of a nationally promoted event series. Doug Biro, a former creative director at RCA Records, will direct the first "Out of the Book." According to the newspaper, the film is likely to appear in McEwan's stead, since he will not be doing traditional bookstore appearances to promote his upcoming novel, On Chesil Beach (Nan A. Talese), in the U.S.

More than 50 bookstores across the country have planned to show the film from June 13 to 17. After bookstores screen "Out of the Book," it will be posted on Powell's web site and on YouTube. (Read a related article.)

Chappaqua Bookstore Pairs With Clinton Museum Store to Offer Presidential Memorabilia

According to the Journal News, several months ago, Connie Fails, director of the Clinton Museum Store in Little Rock, Arkansas, contacted Second Story Book Shop in Chappaqua, New York, to ask if store owner Joan Ripley would like to carry memorabilia honoring the store's famous neighbor and loyal customer, President Bill Clinton. Ripley "immediately agreed," the Journal News noted.

"We ordered things we thought the local residents might appreciate. It commemorates a historic event in our community," Ripley told the Journal News. Fails told the newspaper that Second Story was a perfect fit for the memorabilia, because the President was a frequent shopper there, and "[Clinton] loves small, independent bookstores."

Some of the gift merchandise Second Story Book Shop now offers includes silk scarves, mugs, tote bags, compact discs of Clinton's speeches, and watches.

Baker & Taylor Closes on AMS

On March 20, Baker & Taylor, Inc., announced that it had completed the acquisition of the wholesale operations of Advanced Marketing Services. AMS had been in proceedings under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code since December 29, 2006. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, approved the transaction Friday, March 9.

"The Advanced Marketing acquisition is a perfect fit with Baker & Taylor and gives us a formidable presence in this industry," noted Richard Willis, Baker & Taylor's chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. "Advanced Marketing's employees have shown the same dedication and passion for their customers, and we are pleased to be able to give them the opportunity to continue to grow their business."

Baker & Taylor Marketing Services will continue to keep its primary office in San Diego and operate warehouses in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Sacramento, California.

Wal-Mart Withdraws Banking Application

On March 17, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. had withdrawn its application to operate an industrial-loan company, which is a kind of bank. The company cited the "manufactured controversy" surrounding its application to open an ILC as the reason for its withdrawal. Plans now are to "expand further into other financial services that don't require an ILC charter, such as check cashing and bill payment," WSJ noted.

Back in April 2006, Jeff Milchen, co-founder of the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), testified at a public hearing to voice opposition to Wal-Mart's plans to open an industrial bank. Wal-Mart claimed it was looking to open the bank in order to lower costs by processing credit and debit cards and electronic checks internally. For AMIBA, the biggest issue regarding Wal-Mart's proposal, in addition to its size and its ability to dominate any market it enters, is the potential that the superstore would have branched out from industrial banking into commercial banking, Milchen told BTW prior to the hearing.

April Is National Poetry Month

This April will be the 12th annual National Poetry Month, and, to help booksellers prepare for the month-long celebration of verse, the Academy of American Poets (AAP), organizers of the annual event, have made numerous resources available on their website at www.poets.org. In addition to information on poetry-related reading series, lists of new books of poetry, and an online Poetry Book Club, AAP has created a poster designed by graphic designer Christoph Niemann. The poster features an encoded image of poet Walt Whitman, composed of repeating white type reading "National Poetry Month April 2007." The image is accompanied by a line from Whitman's poem "Leaves of Grass": "And our visions, the visions of poets, the most solid announcements of any." It may be viewed in PDF format on the AAP's website.

Tamar Yellin Wins Inaugural Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature

On March 21, The Jewish Book Council, administrator of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish literature, announced that Tamar Yellin of England, author of The Genizah at the House of Shepher (Toby Press), is the first recipient of the $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. The two runner-up awardees, who will receive the Choice Award and will each receive $7,500, are Amir Gutfreund, author of Our Holocaust (Toby Press, translated by Jessica Cohen), from Israel, and Michael Lavigne, author of Not Me (Random House), from San Francisco. All three winning authors will be celebrated at a gala event to be held May 21 in Manhattan.

The prize was established by Sami Rohr's children and grandchildren to honor Rohr's lifelong love of Jewish writing. The annual award will recognize the unique role of contemporary writers in the transmission and examination of Jewish values, and is intended to encourage and promote outstanding writing of Jewish interest. Each year, a prize of $100,000 will be presented to an emerging writer whose work, of exceptional literary merit, stimulates an interest in themes of Jewish concern.