New House Play: Stock a Distributor

by Steven Zeitchik -- Publishers Weekly, 4/11/2005

Perseus's announcement last week that it had completed the acquisition of distributor CDS confirmed that a complicated new relationship between distributors and publishers has taken hold.

Unlike just a few years ago, when distribution could be a company's exclusive business, most distributors now either have a strong publishing component (NBN, IPG) or are owned by a publisher (CDS). Some, like PGW and NBN, have also pursued international distribution as a growth strategy.

Meanwhile, houses with excess warehouse capacity are entering the distribution business; a large publisher, Random House, for instance, recently expanded its program by picking up new contracts for presses such as Taunton. And midsize houses are realizing they can't always be dependent on others for fulfillment. "At some point, if we're going to grow up and be a long-term player in his industry, we had to get control of our own destiny. You can't do that as an appendage of another company," said Perseus CEO David Steinberger.

Perseus announced the CDS buy last week after more than a month of speculation over who might take over fulfillment from HarperCollins. In the new structure, CDS president Gilbert Perlman will continue running the company, reporting to Steinberger.

In an unrelated development, Perseus announced that Running Press publisher John Whalen has left the company; he will be replaced by creative director Jon Anderson, who has a long background as a Barnes & Noble buyer.