B&N Foresees Terrible Holiday
In a memo to employees, Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio said the retail environment is the worst he has ever seen as a bookseller, and the nation's largest bookstore chain is “bracing for a terrible holiday, and expect[s] the trend to continue well into 2009, and perhaps beyond.” While Riggio still expects B&N to post a “decent profit” this year, the difficult financial environment means the retailer will need to be even more diligent with expense controls, inventory management and capital expenditures. New store openings will also be curtailed and discretionary spending “cut to the bone,” Riggio wrote.
New Reed CEO Named
Reed Elsevier has appointed Ian Smith as CEO-designate of the company. Smith will join Elsevier on January 1, 2009, and will succeed Crispin Davis when he retires as CEO in March. Reed is the parent company of Reed Business Information, which publishes PW. Most recently, Smith was chief executive of Taylor Woodrow plc, one of the largest U.K. house building and general construction companies.
S&S to Publish Le Clezio's 'Interrogation'
Seven of Nobel Prize—winner Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio's novels were published in the U.S. in the 1970s by the no longer active Atheneum. Last week, S&S reached a deal to bring Le Clezio's first book published in the U.S., The Interrogation, back into print. Simon & Schuster is aiming to release the book before the end of the year in hardcover, with a 15,000—20,000 first printing. S&S is considering reacquiring the other six Atheneum titles as well.
Cuts at Rodale
Eight positions in the book group were among the 111 jobs eliminated at Rodale last week. The majority of the cuts, about 10% of Rodale's workforce, were in the company's IT, operations and customer service departments, although some reductions were made in the publishing units.
Scholastic Buyout Draws 110
Approximately 110 employees have agreed to take the voluntary retirement package being offered by Scholastic. The package was offered to employees over 50 who have been with the company for at least 10 years. The company has also laid off a small number of people in different business units, but a spokesperson said Scholastic doesn't expect to make any “broad scale” reductions in headcount, given the success of the buyout and other cost-cutting steps.
Correction
In PW's Best Books of the Year (Nov. 3), the author of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks was incorrectly listed. The author is E. Lockhart.