Have often found myself spouting about the route heavy discounting, particularly by the supermarkets, is taking the publishing industry. And also the reaction from the trade, with a seemingly predictable response without the realisation that supermarkets could happily sell our precious product for a 1p each simply to drive store traffic. New strategy is needed, for instance using store power to widely promote and create new stars at higher margin – and by being the first to 'unveil' those stars, thereby aligning them with the store's brand.
Well, after John Grisham's attack on US discounting on his books (well done, John), the Amercian Booksellers Association (ABA) said this, which I think sums up the situation nicely:
"What's so troubling in the current situation is that none of the companies involved are engaged primarily in the sale of books. They're using our most important products – mega bestsellers, which, ironically, are the most expensive books for publishers to bring to market – as a loss leader to attract customers to buy other, more profitable merchandise. The entire book industry is in danger of becoming collateral damage in this war."
Good to seem them taking such an active role (have written to the Department of Justice) and let's hope we find those new strategies sooner rather than later.
Tom
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