With reports circulating at the New England Independent Booksellers Association’s fall conference being held October 12-14 about changes to the Hachette Book Group’s sales force, the publisher has confirmed that it has eliminated 11 spots. In a statement issued to PW, Hachette said: “After an extensive review of our overall Sales and Marketing structure to identify effective ways to meet the changing needs of our account base, we have decided to eliminate 11 positions. This is an extremely difficult decision to make, but it was necessary to tighten our sales force in order to adapt to evolution in the marketplace.”
A spokesperson said the cuts came in both sales and marketing. Hachette is currently finalizing its new sales territories, but the spokesperson said, "no account should feel they don’t have coverage from a HBG sales person."
