Wednesday 6 July 2011

a monopoly of booksellers (part deux)

hot on the heels of news that the Big A was to swallow Bookdepository, comes news (smh, Bookseller) that here in Oz, Pearson, the owners of Penguin, are to buy the online assets of RedGroup.

The reports might be a little confusing but what it means is that the Borders and A&R online sales businesses have been split from the rump of the Borders and A&R bricks and mortar business, and sold off. Borders was a franchise in Australia, originally operated by A&R, which was in turn owned by RedGroup, a private equity group, currently in administration.

Strangely, this might be a good thing as it might provide some local online competition for the Big A, and importantly, allow a way for Australian and NZ publishers to get their material on sale online (as well as short circuiting the absurdity of having books shipped to the UK from the publishers warehouse, only for them to be shipped back again...

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