News Briefs

Slowing sales, a reduction in new store openings and a consolidation of some functions in its retail and online areas has forced Barnes & Noble into its first large-scale downsizing. Last week the company eliminated about 100 positions at its headquarters, approximately 4% of its New York workforce. The cuts were across all areas of the company.

Earlier in the week it was disclosed that Pershing Square Capital Management had sold its entire stake of B&N stock. At one point Pershing’s stake stood at 6.5 million shares, representing about an 11.8% stake in the bookstore chain.

Preliminary figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that bookstore sales dropped 13% in November, falling to $1.05 billion. Sales for all of retail were off 10%. For the 11-month period, bookstore sales were flat at $14.8 billion, while sales for the entire retail segment fell 0.7%.

Jon Anderson, president and publisher of Running Press, has been named to succeed Rick Richter as head of the S&S children’s publishing division. He joins S&S as executive v-p and publisher, effective January 21. Running Press has a relatively small but growing children’s operation.

Avin Mark Domnitz will step down as CEO of the ABA in July. A former bookseller and lawyer, Domnitz has led the trade association since 1997. The ABA has formed a search committee to find his successor.

A New York State judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Amazon challenging the constitutionality of New York’s decision to force out-of-state online retailers to collect sales tax from New York residents who buy items from the e-tailer. Amazon filed suit shortly after New York ruled in April that Amazon had enough of a “nexus” in the state to be required to collect sales tax. In her opinion, Judge Eileen Bransten said, “There is no basis upon which Amazon can prevail.”

Richard “Mick” McGuire has been named chairman of Borders. The 32-year-old former hedge fund executive is replacing Larry Pollock, who's held the non-executive post since July 2006; Pollock is keeping a seat on the board. McGuire joined the company's board in 2008 as part of his role at Pershing Square Capital, the retailer's largest investor.

For its first quarter ended Dec. 27, 2008, revenue fell 5%, to $59.6 million, at Courier Corp. and profits were cut in half, dropping to $703,000. Revenue in its publishing segment fell 25%, with sales in the Creative Homeowner division plunging 41%, while sales at Dover fell 13% and sales at REA were off 27%. Sales in the manufacturing division rose 2%, to $50.9 million, but Courier announced it was closing its Book-mart Press plant in North Bergen, N.J. The facility had sales of $7 million and employed 72 people.

O’Reilly Media has laid off 30 employees; 21 at its Sebastopol, Calif., office and and nine at its Cambridge, Mass., office. The layoffs represent about 14% of the company’s workforce.

Macmillan has established a speakers’ bureau for its authors. The new service will draw speakers from all of Macmillan’s imprints and launches with more than 100 authors. Macmillan Speakers was founded by Ellis Trevor, formerly a publicist at St. Martin’s, and Kathleen Gilligan, an editor at Thomas Dunne Books. Trevor will have day-to-day management responsibility for the new venture.