By Siobhan O’Leary The average price of a book in Germany is up 27 cents to €11.55 — a 2.4% increase over last year. According to buchreport, this — and not an increase in demand — accounts for the 2.3% increase in sales for the first seven months of 2009 compared to the same period last year. According to a …
German Buch News: Books are #3 in Online Shopping Popularity
By Siobhan O’Leary A recent survey conducted by Bitkom (the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media), published in the Boersenblatt, reveals that books are the third most popular products purchased online. Plane and train tickets were first, while concert tickets came in second. According to Bitkom, 35% of those surveyed have purchased a book online. Music landed …
Top US/UK Trade Talk: Penguin’s Profit Slides; BISG Seeks Exec. Dir.
By Edward Nawotka The biggest news of the day by far has been Penguin’s earnings report: The strengthening of the dollar against the pound turned a ” 6% sales decline in the first six months of 2009 into an 11% increase,” wrote Jim Milliot in PW. The UK’s Bookseller explained that “Penguin Group’s results for the first half of 2009 …
German Buch News: Are Printed Maps a Thing of the Past?
By Siobhan O’Leary German publishers may soon realize that the printed map is a thing of the past. According to Buchreport’s latest figures, sales of printed maps declined 21% in mid-2008 and have dropped another 4.6% since this time last year. With more readers turning to the Internet for travel information and more travelers carrying around navigation systems in their …
Bonus Material: The Godzilla of Japanese Online Shopping
By Edward Nawotka If this were a Japanese monster movie Mothra would be played by Amazon.co.jp. Amazon in Japan has always been a contender, but one that is too often on the losing side of the fight. (Recently, for example, the company was asked to pay $119 million in overdue Japanese taxes after being accused of failing to properly report …