BTW New Briefs

Books-A-Million to Open 41 Stores in November

On October 26, Books-A-Million, Inc. announced that it will open 41 new BAM! stores in markets across the U.S. in early November. The company closed 21 underperforming locations during its third quarter.

“Our expansion into these markets represents a substantial opportunity for our company,” said Terrance G. Finley, BAM’s president and COO. “We have been working diligently in the last several months to find ways to keep a number of former Borders store locations in operation under the BAM! brand, and these store openings are the culmination of that work.”

 The locations of the 41 new stores are listed in the company’s press release.

Ingram Publisher Services Adds Four New Clients

Ingram Publisher Services has inked deals to provide sales, marketing, and distribution services for four publishers: The Planning Shop, Moll Anderson Productions, Dundurn Press, and Arundel Publishing.

Planning Shop specializes in books, tools, and resources for entrepreneurs and small businesses.   Moll Anderson Productions is a leading publisher of home design, interior decorating, and lifestyle titles. Dundurn Press, one of the largest publishers of adult and young adult fiction and nonfiction books in Canada, is known for its Canadian heritage, natural history and biographical titles as well as art books. And Arundel Publishing specializes in young adult, nonfiction, mystery, and thriller titles.

Consortium Signs Three for Spring Season

Beginning January 1, Consortium Book Sales & Distribution will provide distribution services in the U.S. for MCCM Creations of Hong Kong, China; Nobrow Press of London, England; and Promopress of Barcelona, Spain.

Julie Schaper, president and COO of Consortium, noted that the three publishers explore a “range and diversity of visual publishing in print.”

Amazon Okayed to Take Over U.K.’s The Book Depository

The United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is allowing Amazon to take over The Book Depository, saying that it would not lead to a lessening of competition within the U.K. book industry, as reported by The Bookseller.

Amazon’s plans to take over The Book Depository, announced in July, were opposed by the U.K.’s booksellers and publishers associations, the Independent Publishers Guild, and the Bookseller Group. Nigel Roby, The Bookseller Group’s managing director, said: “This is a disappointment. The Bookseller Group’s position has been that the OFT should use this opportunity to look at Amazon’s existing competitive position. It was never about Book Depository per se, which sells overseas primarily. The ruling says that ‘Amazon’s share of the U.K. online book market is strong’ which as understatements go will take some beating as a 75 percent share seems likely.”