During an interview with Mark Dressler on the Publishing Perspectives stage at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Ingram Content Group chairman and CEO John R. Ingram briefly discussed the "disaster investment" that was the Rocket eBook. Drawn in by the hype around the digital-exclusive Stephen King novella "Riding the Bullet," many companies, including Ingram, invested heavily in the e-book platform. In retrospect, the technology was not yet there, Ingram said, and it was several years too early for the reading public to adopt e-readers. At around the same time, however, Ingram had begun investing heavily in the first iteration of its print-on-demand program, which has blossomed into Lightning Source. "Thank God print-on-demand worked," remarked Ingram. "Or someone else might be talking to you now."
---
During a CEO Talk, Michel Levy, CEO of Saraiva Group, which operates Brazil's biggest bookstore chain, with 115 stores across the country, and Mauricio Fanganiello, the managing director of Saraiva's publishing division, discussed the challenges posed by Amazon's entrance into the Brazilian market. Although Amazon has been selling Kindles in Brazil for some time, it only recently began selling print books to Brazilian consumers. And this August, Saraiva launched an e-reader of its own, called the Lev, to compete with the Kindle.
Levy asserted that he is "not underestimating any competitors," and believes that "the combination of e-commerce and physical stores are strong competitive advantages for us." New competitors, he said, "bring challenges, but they bring new ideas. They make you wake up earlier and go to bed late. We're going to compete."
Asked how he felt about the future of the bricks-and-mortar bookstore, Levy said he was a "strong believer." He acknowledged that though bookstores will have to change to adapt to new technology and new market realities, he remained confident that physical stores, and printed books, are "here to stay."
---
It was striking to talk to several Big Six publishing executives who were happy to be among their kind but felt constrained by Justice Department strictures related to the e-book agency model collusion case. Many top people must keep logs of their contacts with top colleagues at other houses, noting when and where they met and what they talked about. One publisher recounted that company lawyers told him he had to cancel a planned lunch with the head of another house, even though he said they both knew what they could not discuss and "we've been friends for 25 years." --John Mutter and Alex Mutter
