Borders on the Block; Strategic Review in Place
Borders has enlisted JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch as the company's
financial advisors to assist in exploring strategic alternatives, which
may or may not include the sale and/or certain divisions. Borders also
suspended its quarterly dividend and will borrow $42.5 million from
Pershing Square, its largest shareholder. Borders Chief Executive
George Jones noted in the press release that "this will be a
challenging year for retailers due to continued uncertainty in the
economic environment," and that "the current credit environment has
made many of these alternatives prohibitively expensive or entirely
unavailable," he is still pleased "to have the confidence and backing
of our largest shareholder, Pershing Square, which has agreed to
provide funding that gives us adequate opportunity to implement our
plans this year and pursue a range of longer term solutions through the
strategic alternatives review process."
Jones added that the company was on track to reach its 2009 financial
targets, but it would be slowed by the worsening economic conditions.
"We will be slowed in our progress and expect that we'll reach them
later than originally anticipated," he said.
"Still, we believe that our strategic plan remains the right path
toward achieving these goals," he said. This plan includes the
imminent launching of the company's website on its own, the spread of
"new concept" stores that emphasize digital offerings, the display of
more titles face out and a related reduction in inventory of 5%-10%,
among other initiatives.
The news arose out of Borders' report of fourth
quarter earnings for the period ending February 2, 2008. Total
consolidated sales rose 2.8% to $1.3 billion. Net income was $64.7
million compared to a net loss of $73.6 million in the previous year's
fourth quarter, while operating income was $84.7 million compared to
$87.7 million for the previous fourth quarter. Full year sales rose
4.2% to $3.8 billion while the net loss was $157.4 million compared to a
net loss of $151.3 million for the previous year. There was a $125.7 million
charge this year from the sale of Borders's U.K. and Ireland stores.
Fourth quarter sales at U.S. Borders superstores rose 5.1% to
$957.8 million and sales at Borders stores open at least a year rose
2.1%, the third consecutive quarter of same-store sales gains. Books
sales rose 3.2% on a same-store basis but music fell 14.2%. Cafe and
gifts and stationery were up 13.3% and 10%, respectively.
For the full year, Borders superstore sales rose 5.3% to $2.8 billion.
Same-store sales for the year were up 1.5%.
Release
B&N Announces Fourth Quarter Results, Increased Dividend
While Borders is suspending its dividend, Barnes & Noble ha
authorized an increase to its quarterly cash dividend from $0.15 to
$0.25 per share, commencing with the dividend to be paid in June 2008.
In addition, Barnes & Noble's fourth quarter statement confirms
previously reported preliminary results and adds a guidance note for
2008 in advance of its first quarter earnings report on May 22.
B&N expects first quarter comparable store sales at Barnes &
Noble stores to be slightly negative, and as previously announced,
full-year comparable store sales are expected to be slightly positive.
Barnes & Noble, Inc.'s first quarter earnings is expected to range
from $0.05 to $0.10 per share. As previously announced, Barnes &
Noble, Inc.'s full-year earnings per share are expected to range from
$1.70 to $1.90, approximately flat with 2007 on an operating basis.
Non-operating items in 2007 results include the two settlements,
previously noted, as well as the $8 million tax benefit recorded in the
company's second quarter. The share count used in the computation of
earnings per share is based on a diluted weighted average share count of
63.4 million shares for the first quarter, and a diluted weighted
average share count of 64.2 million shares for the full year.
RTT News
Riggio Stock Watch
B&N Chairman Len Riggio bought another 320,000 shares of company
stock on Monday and Tuesday, upping his total to 15.3 million shares or
approximately 25% of company stock oustanding. The latest purchases
came via B&N College Booksellers.
No Lunch Tomorrow
Publishers Lunch will be observing tomorrow's holiday and take the day
off. The guest chef kindly thanks all Lunch subscribers for bearing
with her own brand of spices and recipes and cedes the joint back to
its regular host starting on Monday.
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Every day, we gather, report, recap and interpret the most publishing
news, deal transactions, and job offers anywhere. Today's Lunch Deluxe
includes these additional stories and links:
British Memoirist Denied US Entry
NPR Books Watch
WHSmith Expands Travel Division
Mary Jo Buttafuoco Shopping Book Proposal
Bombing Suspect Invokes Bhutto Memoir
Archipelago Wins Miriam Bass Award
Blogger is Japan's Newest Literary Star
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Personnel News
Mary Marotta is joining Simon & Schuster as Vice President, Director
of Children's Sales, a newly created position.
At Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, Lyron Bennet has been promoted to editor.
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Publishing Sales Representative [Full Time]
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Business Manager - Young Readers [Full Time]
Offered by: Hachette Book Group USA (New York, NY)
Sales Representative [Full Time]
Offered by: Macmillan (Southern California, CA)
Advertising Coordinator [Full Time]
Offered by: Hachette Book Group USA (New York, NY)
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Arthur C. Clarke, 90, Dies
The British science fiction writer, futurist, inventior and author of
approximately 100 books died in his adopted home of Sri Lanka at the
age of 90. Clarke is most famous for his short story "the Sentinel",
later adapted by Stanley Kubrick into the 1968 movie 2001: A SPACE
ODYSSEY.
NYT Obit
BBC
Book Expo America Designates Graphic Novel Day
BEA has designated Saturday, May 31 as Graphic Novel Day, which kicks
off with a breakfast sponsored by Diamond Book Associates and featuring
Art Spiegelman, Jeph Loeb, Mike Mignola and Jeff Smith. The entire day
will be sponsored by New York Comic Con. "Since I run both BEA and New
York Comic Con, this is sort of like a dream come true," Lance Fensterman,
v-p and show manager, said in a statement. "I get to take one big show, in
this case New York Comic Con,
and give it a little home inside our other big show! Without a doubt,
the strength of the content and personalities involved in our graphic
novel programming this year give credence to the explosive impact
graphic novels are having on the publishing and book retail industry."
Penguin Launches Alternate Reality Game
We Tell Stories, an alternate reality game created by Penguin and startup Six to
Start, launches this morning. It will begin with six weekly
installments, based on a classic novel and written by a different
Penguin author, which tasks participants with finding their way through
the story through tools developed for the game. The seventh and final
installment will link up to the previous six and, according to Six to
Start chief creative Adrian Hon, is "a more traditional ARG,
and it sort of feeds into the other six stories and binds them
together. The seventh story gives you motivation to read all six
stories, and explains why they're written."
CNet
Website
The Most News that the Business Uses
Every day, we gather, report, recap and interpret the most publishing
news, deal transactions, and job offers anywhere. Today's Lunch Deluxe
includes these additional stories and links:
We Repeat, Harper UK is Bidding for Bankrupt Friday
Judging Wolfe By Reissue Covers
Updike to Give Annual Humanities Lecture
OverDrive to Distribute MP3 Audiobooks to Booksellers & Libraries
Google
Nearly Done Scanning Harvard's Digital Collection
Grain of Salt Department: Carrey to Pen Self-Help Book
PublishersMarketplace.com always features all of the unique data and
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index, and the new top reviewers tables.
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More New Jobs Every Day
We've added more new job listings to our industry-leading Job Board
since yesterday morning, the latest among about 120 opportunities
still live in all.
For employers, we provide the unbeatable combination of the largest
circulation in the business by far, a total focus on book publishing
only, and the best prices anywhere.
And for job-seekers, we present great new possibilities every day and
conveniences like an RSS ping to keep you posted on every new offering.
Among the latest
Production Associate [Full Time]
Offered by: Hachette Book Group USA (New York, NY)
Advertising Coordinator [Full Time]
Offered by: Simon & Schuster (New York, NY)
Sales Associate [Full Time]
Offered by: Interweave Press (Loveland, CO)
Production Manager [Full Time]
Offered by: TOKYOPOP Inc. (Los Angeles, CA)
Account Services Manager [Full Time]
Offered by: TOKYOPOP Inc. (Los Angeles, CA)
Electronic Media Editor, Sciences [Full Time]
Offered by: W. W. Norton (New York, NY)
Associate Copy Chief [Full Time]
Offered by: Globe Pequot Press (Guilford, CT)
Photo Editor, Books [Full Time]
Offered by: The Taunton Press (Newtown, CT)
Senior Manager - Corporate & Premium Sales [Full Time]
Offered by: Macmillan (New York, NY)
Assistant Editor [Full Time]
Offered by: The Overlook Press (New York, NY)
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Orange Broadband Prize Longlist
Debut novels figure prominently in the 20-strong list as seven
first-time authors - Anita Amirrezvani, Sadie Jones, Lauren
Liebenberg, Heather O'Neill, Dalia Sofer, Carol Topolski and Patricia
Wood - appear on the longlist. Meanwhile, cries of sexism cross gender
lines as both Tim Lott and A.S. Byatt cry foul at the female-only
prize.
Longlist
Lott
item (Telegraph)
Byatt
criticism (Times)
An Update on the Iowa MFA Situation
Interim Executive Vice President and Provost of Iowa University Lila L. Lopes
issued a statement yesterday refuting earlier claims that the
university library planned to publish MFA theses by Writers Workshop
students on the Internet. "Let me say as simply and as clearly as I
can, there is no such plan nor will there be." Lopes later told Dan
Wickett that she will be meeting with students and program directors
this afternoon "to talk about a policy that is appropriate for MFA
theses," adding that the library and graduate college will be part of
the conversation later this week.
Emerging
Writers Blog
Local Residents Rally to Save Brooklyn Store; Burlington Owner Retires After 40 Years
Residents of the East New York neighborhood in Brooklyn are rallying to
keep Diana Books Plus, the neighborhood's only black-owned bookstore,
open. The seven-year-old store may close its doors at the end of the
month unless owner Diana Ricketts can come up with over $10,000 in back
rent. A fundraiser is planned on March 22.
The Most News that the Business Uses
Every day, we gather, report, recap and interpret the most publishing
news, deal transactions, and job offers anywhere. Today's Lunch Deluxe
includes these additional stories and links:
Weak Dollar Pulls Down Random and Bertelsmann; Direct Group NA on the Block
Riggio Buys Up Yet More Stock Barnes & Noble
Exiled Bangladeshi Writer to Leave India
Welsh Pens Prequel to "Trainspotting"
PublishersMarketplace.com always features all of the unique data and
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Top Dealmakers (with 180 lists of busy agents, agencies, editors and
imprints) live contacts, our representation database, comprehensive
coverage of reviews and bestseller lists from all over, special tools
ranging from the Book Tracker to Amazoom, our custom publishing search
index, and the new top reviewers tables.
Plus our popular member pages and blogs bring hundreds of thousands of
focused page views from the publishing world to about 1,300 posted
pages every month.
Enjoy the most publishing information and resources available anywhere,
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Personnel News
Kent D. Wolf joins Global Literary Management as an agent after eight
years at Harcourt Trade Publishers, where he headed the rights
department, selling titles by Umberto Eco, Jose Saramago, Joyce Carol
Oates, and Rory Stewart, among others. Previously, he was a book scout
with Mcinerney International and began his publishing career as an
editor at Dalkey Archive Press. Kent@globallit.com
Random House Publishing Group announce the
promotion of Tricia Narwani to editor.
HarperCollins
has appointed Suzie Sisoler as Director of Online Consumer Marketing,
reporting to Leslie Hulse. Sisoler was previously an online marketing
manager with the company. Adam Korn joins HarperCollins' Creative
Development Team as Senior Editor, reporting to Lisa Sharkey. Previously
he was an editor at Crown.
More New Jobs Every Day
We've added 5 more new job listings to our
industry-leading Job Board since yesterday morning, the
latest among about 115 opportunities
still live in all.
For employers, we provide the unbeatable combination of the largest
circulation in the business by far, a total focus on book publishing
only, and the best prices anywhere.
And for job-seekers, we present great new possibilities every day and
conveniences like an RSS ping to keep you posted on every new offering.
Among the latest:
Literary Agency Assistant [Part Time]
Offered by: Janis A. Donnaud & Associates, Inc. (New York, NY)
Marketing Manager/Online Products [Full Time]
Offered by: Triumph Learning, LLC - Coach Publishing (New York, NY)
Designer, Digital Media [Full Time]
Offered by: Hachette Book Group USA (New York, NY)
Acquisitions Editor - AUDIO (Temp Assignment) [Full Time - Temporary]
Offered by: Scholastic, Inc. (New York, NY)
Designer, Clarkson Potter [Full Time]
Offered by: Random House (New York, NY)
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