A great review in The Irish Times for A Little Circle Of Kindred Minds: Joyce In Paris by Conor Fennell, our first print title. It was written by Luca Crispi:

A Little Circle of Kindred Minds: Joyce in Paris is a commendable introduction to the cultural scene and, most importantly, to the now virtually mythical stories that have been told about these modernist artists. Although not always exact as literary history, the stories are told with a contagious passion.

A Dubliner and former editor with RTÉ, Fennell has an enthusiasm for Joyce and other Irish writers in Paris that is apparent on every page. The anecdotal sketches are a pleasure to see recounted again and should encourage readers to pursue the memoirs and biographies that form the foundation of Fennell’s book. One could quibble with some of the facts, as well as with the generalisations and summary statements, but that would be to miss the point of the book, which is a broad exploration of some of the characters that helped make Paris “the centre of English-language Modernism”.

via Defining Dublin in the City of Light – The Irish Times – Sat, Jul 16, 2011.

When you add the payment and the liability assumption, Borders actually fetched an OFFER of just under $440 million and that’s not for the whole group. The store closure program combined with the stores Najafi does not wish to acquire means that there’s a bunch of stores not included in the purchase. I wonder where this will end price-wise, is anyone likely to trump that bid?

Borders Group Inc., the bankrupt bookstore chain, said a Najafi Cos. unit bid $215.1 million for its stores and would assume $220 million of liabilities to kick off an auction to test for higher bids.

The agreement is subject to bankruptcy-court approval, Borders said in a statement. Any stores that aren’t included in the sale to Najafi’s Direct Brands unit will be acquired by Hilco Merchant Resources LLC and Gordon Brothers Group LLC and closed, the statement said.

via Borders Says Najafi Bids $215.1 Million for Stores and Debt – Businessweek.

Image Credit:
Some rights reserved by kzamani

It’s not all bad news for the retail trade, or maybe the cost management efforts have finally started to hit home in some places:

Waterstone’s increased profit by £6.7m last year as like-for-like sales fell by 3.8%, according to financial results released today.
The HMV Group announced in its financial report that in the 52 weeks to 30th April 2011, Waterstone’s profit grew from £2.8m to £9.5m. During that time however, total sales for the high street bookseller dropped by £14.4m to £499.2m and like-for-like sales fell by 3.8%. In the same time period, sales at the HMV Group as a whole dropped from £2.02bn to £1.87bn and like-for-like sales plummeted by 11%. After tax and the disposal costs, HMV Group made a loss of £121.7m, an improvement on the £152.8m loss last year.
Profit up at Waterstones despite sales dip | The Bookseller.

The launch of A Little Circle Of Kindred Minds: Joyce In Paris took place on 13 June in the Irish Writers’ Centre on Parnell Square. It was a blast. We sold out of the book, the weather was smashing and the guests seemed to enjoy themselves.

Both the invited guest, Professor Declan Kiberd, and the author, Conor Fennell, gave excellent talks that inspired laughter and contemplation in equal measure.

All told, it was about the most perfect launch for Green Lamp Editions I could have hoped for. Thanks to everyone who has helped me get to this point, it has been a really excellent journey.
Eoin

With another chain headed for life in the arms of a wealthy suitor, you have to wonder if perhaps private (and dynastic) ownership is a good thing for bookshops.

I’ve been thinking about that for some time, thinking especially about the horrible pain that will have to be administered to bookstores and their workers if chains are to survive.

I’m not sure I know the answer yet:

The Norman family, owners of the Farmers department stores and a raft of Australasian jewellery stores, bought the 57 Whitcoulls and five Borders shops from administrator Ferrier Hodgson for a confidential sum.

David Norman told BusinessDay the company would almost certainly honour all existing vouchers and gift cards at full face value once the deal is complete.

He also confirmed that customers would not have to spend a similar amount to redeem their vouchers, which caused an enormous customer backlash shortly after the Whitcoulls, Borders and Bennetts bookstores were put into voluntary administration by their previous owners REDgroup Retail.

via Whitcoulls, Borders sold to Norman family | Stuff.co.nz.

Decent and quick overview of the retail situation on the high street by Motley Fool:

Overall, however, I think there is a fundamental, longer term negative trend taking place here.I remember considering HMV as a value stock late last year. At the time it was at 45p. If I recall correctly it was on a price/earnings ratio of about 4 and had a dividend yield in double figures: surely it was just too cheap?But this value play has failed the test of time — as it happened, earnings since then have fallen, the dividend has been slashed, and the share price is now 15p. In short, HMV is a classic value trap. Every time investors think the company looks cheap, it gets cheaper.

via The High Street Is Crumbling – 04/04/2011.

I wonder when most people will realise that B&N is literally killing itself to boost the ebook business. It’s a sensible decision and I’m sure the physical division will persist in a much reduced form for some time to come, but for all of that, B&N is killing itself to survive.

“Barnes & Noble is just a better-run bookstore. They have better locations, their stores are brighter and it’s better stocked,” says Bill Kavaler, a senior analyst at brokerage firm Oscar Gruss & Son. “And while there’s some discomfort with Barnes & Noble’s management, you can’t say they’re not trying to run a good book chain.”

But the question is how long Barnes & Noble can stay ahead of the gradual shift from print to digital. Barnes & Noble still has 705 bookstores in the U.S., and those locations are less profitable than they used to be, though that drop seems to be slowing. Worse, its online operation continues to lose money. Overall, Barnes & Noble’s profits in its most recent quarter, which ended in January, fell 25% from a year earlier to $60.6 million. In order to stem the losses, Barnes & Noble’s executives decided recently to stop paying stockholders a dividend and invest the money in its online and e-books division to boost growth.

via As Borders Closes Bookshops, Rival Barnes & Noble Survives – TIME.

HMV is going through the horrors. The situation there would seem to be going from bad to worse. Waterstones is surely likely to leave the group if this continues. What amazes me about that decision though is the likelihood that in cash and sale terms, the book-chain is more likely to recover or at least stabilize:

UBS analyst Adam Cochrane said: “In our view HMV would be in a much more stable financial position if it issued equity to pay down debt.” Arden analyst Nick Bubb said: “It is becoming possible after [Tuesday’s] debt disaster the group will have to sell Waterstone’s and raise emergency equity.”

Brokers thought HMV would probably need to raise at least £50m. They said it would need a convincing business recovery story to win support from shareholders in the event of a fundraising, which they fear could dilute the value of their holdings.

via HMV expected to consider an emergency rights issue | News | Retail Week.

An excellent piece on the collapse of REDgroup in Australia and New Zealand with New Zealand’s Whitcoulls as its primary focus. The Irish publishers (or indeed the Canadian, Austrian or any smaller market publisher with larger same-language neighbours) will find many of the notes ringing true.

Independent bookseller Hamish Wright says he understands the reasons for such moves, but laments that it sometimes means retailers are not able to respond to customer demand as quickly as they would like. Some New Zealand orders are now being given lower priority than those from Australia, he says, and some now take many days to arrive. In December in particular, delays can mean lost sales, he says. Or they may prompt customers to go online instead.

Independents insist their superior service and greater knowledge will continue to give them an edge over the chain stores. But with sales of e-readers slowly gathering momentum in New Zealand, and overseas sites such as Amazon and The Book Depository continuing to siphon off an unknown number of online sales, some believe that many bricks and mortar booksellers will struggle to remain viable.

Even Whitcoulls has been unable to match its competitors in online sales, despite the fact that it was one of the first to tackle what used to be called e-tailing with its aptly-titled FlyingPig website. More than a decade later, local websites such as Fishpond and MightyApe are believed to be well ahead of Whitcoulls in online sales.

via The bookshop that lost the plot – Books – NZ Herald News.

At some point, the question must become what is HMV’s end game. Not will it collapse, but how best to manage the business down. How rapid a transformation is possible? Is there money and profit to be wrung from the best for much longer or would savage surgery NOW result in a longer more profitable life for the company?

It seems clear from a number of reports that Waterstone’s chain is in play, but I can’t help but feel that such a move surrenders a brand and chain that could more easily make a digital transition then the music group. To see what B&N has achieved in the US is instructive surely?

The group added that it has entered talks with its lenders with a view to changing its banking covenants.Simon Fox, the chief executive, said: “Trading conditions remain tough, reflecting a difficult consumer environment as well the changing markets in which we operate. However, our business is adapting quickly to respond to these external factors, and we are confident that our plans will ensure its long-term and sustainable future.”

via HMV warns on profits and could breach covenants – Telegraph.