As the dust settles from the bankruptcy announcement by Canadian distributor H.B. Fenn, its client publishers are finding alternate companies to represent them.
New-York based Hachette Book Group announced that Canadian Manda Group in Toronto will now manage its sales and marketing for independent bookstores, library and non-traditional accounts in Canada. Hachette had already moved the rest of its business away from Fenn two years ago, including sales and marketing for its large national retail accounts, when it began distributing books directly from its U.S. warehouse.
David Young, Chairman and CEO of Hachette Book Group, Inc., said “Canadian Manda Group’s excellent reputation in the Canadian marketplace,” Canadian roots and its large commission sales force across the country made the company an ideal choice for Hachette. The company has been in business in Canada since 1977 and its clients include Guiness, Independent Publishers Group, ECW Press, as well as Ingram Book Company and Ingram Publisher Services.
One of Fenn’s few Canadian client publishers, Whitecap Books, announced this week that its books will now be distributed by Toronto-based Fitzhenry & Whiteside. Whitecap, which specializes in cookbooks and gift books, was hard-hit by the Fenn bankruptcy, owed almost C$1.4 million. However, the announcement of the new distribution partnership also said booksellers could begin ordering Whitecap’s books immediately and that its Spring 2011 titles are being published on schedule.
"This has been an extremely tough few weeks since the demise of HB Fenn and Company and we wish to thank Fitzhenry & Whiteside for the efficient way this transition has been handled," president Michael Burch and vice president Nick Rundle said in a statement.
