Perennial publisher Random House may compete with every other bookseller, both online and off, as a bookseller itself. It will also increase its production of manga.
Olson raised the possibility yesterday, almost in passing, after boasting in a year-end letter to employees that Random House "has never been fiscally stronger or sounder."
"We have begun seriously evaluating - and in some cases preparing business plans - for many potential initiatives," he added. [ ]
B&N has released literary classics, histories and novelty books, vying with traditional publishers for reader dollars.
Asked about Olson's online signal, B&N senior vice president Mary Ellen Keating said, "We can't comment on something we don't know about." She noted that Random House's parent, Bertelsmann, already sells millions of titles direct to consumers through its book clubs.
Even within its parent company, Random Houses profit margin would be extraordinary if it cut out the distributor and the bookseller. For instance, the publisher receives, depending on the print run, production, and royalties, between $1 and $5 for a $14.95 per book. If they sold only half of their books to the various distribution channels, the publisher would receive, on average, between $5 and $10 per $14.95 book. On an average print run of 200,000, they would receive over a million dollars.
Christopher
Portland, OR
November 2002
DEC 16, 2004 08:12 PM