PW: Manda Group in Sales Deal with Pegasus

The Canadian Manda Group has signed a partnership agreement with Pegasus Wholesale Inc. to sell the giant wholesaler's offerings to traditional bookstore outlets as well as to nontraditional stores throughout Canada.

Under the new alliance, Manda will sell Pegasus's books to nontraditional book retailers, including wholesale clubs, mass market retailers and the gift trade. Manda will also sell book-related items, such as audiocassettes, to traditional book outlets. David Drew, president of Canadian Manda, said the deal with Pegasus is strictly a partnership arrangement. "We remain an independent company. They hired us for our sales ability, and I assume if we can't do the job, they'll find some one else," he told PW.

Founded in 1977, Manda has 15 sales representatives.

Peter Strachan, v-p of sales and marketing for Pegasus, praised Manda's ability to find new ways to sell books. "They are unafraid to challenge conventional methods and traditional ways of thinking, and that makes them an ideal Pegasus partner," Strachan noted.

Pegasus, which currently stocks about 500,000 titles, has drawn criticism from some quarters in the Canadian publishing community because of its ties to Chapters Inc., which owns 82% of the company.