Tuesday, September 06, 2011

French publishers back indie booksellers

06.09.11 | Barbara Casassus - The Bookseller

Two French publishers have launched a public call to arms to defend independent booksellers, which continue to suffer from financial decline in the country.
Le Seuil c.e.o. Oliver Bétourné wrote in Le Monde last week that indie booksellers should be granted a bigger share of book trade margins, as they have come under more pressure than other players in the 30 years since the Lang law, establishing fixed book prices, was passed.
Bétourné proposed discussing a three-point plan which would increase booksellers’ margins in the general sales terms, cut costs and increase partnership contracts, he said. The partnership idea is for booksellers to promote young and unknown writers, stock a significant share of an editor’s backlist and agree on new terms for returns, all in exchange for a deeper discount. Le Seuil is owned by La Martinière.
The other publisher to take up the booksellers’ cause publicly is Stock c.e.o. Jean-Marc Roberts, who wrote in the French trade weekly Livres Hebdo arguing online book sales should remain in the hands of bricks and mortar shops. They will always have the edge on know-how and competence, and without the 20% of sales derived from bestsellers, might not survive, Roberts said. Stock is a subsidiary of Hachette Livre.
A study conducted by Xerfi and presented at a national booksellers meeting in Lyon last May showed that independent outlets’ turnover fell 5.4% between 2003 and 2010, with annual drops of 2.5% in 2009 and 3% in 2010. That was despite a relatively buoyant book market thanks to online retailers, cultural product chains, supermarkets and the budding e-book sector. At the same time, independents’ operating costs rose by 2% to 3% a year, while their gross operating profit plunged by two-thirds to 1.1% in seven years.
Separately, Alexandre Bompard, recently appointed c.e.o of the Fnac chain of cultural product stores, gave a combative speech last week about e-books and e-commerce. Although digitisation offers a great opportunity, French players “must act responsibly” to prevent American giants from monopolising the e-book market here, he said.
He added that Amazon accounted for 60% of print book sales in France last year and that Fnac would launch its second e-book reader before the end of this year.

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