Bertrams, the former U.K. wholesaler that went bankrupt and closed in June, has only £600,000 (about $785,000) to pay debts to creditors that total £25 million ($32.7 million), the Bookseller reported, citing bankruptcy documents.
Among the publishers with large debts are Penguin Random House's distribution company Grantham Book Services (more than £2 million); HarperCollins Distribution (£2 million); MDL, Pan Macmillan's distribution company (£1.7 million); Oxford University Press (more than £1 million); and Pearson Education (more than £1 million). There are also many smaller publishers with significant debts owed by Bertrams.
Gardners, the other main U.K. wholesaler, bought the assets of Bertrams and is reopening Bertrams' main warehouse in Norwich as part of Gardners. The Booksellers Association of the U.K. & Ireland bought Bertrams' bookshop stock control, ordering and EPOS system, Bertline, to support independent retailers, and has begun publishing Booktime magazine, which is aimed at book readers and is distributed through bookshops.
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After several months of speculation, Amazon has confirmed that the service will launch in Sweden this fall, the European and International Booksellers Federation reported.
In a press release in Sweden, Amazon said: "Amazon has been available to Swedish consumers and companies through various European websites for several years, but the next step is to introduce a complete detailed selection in Sweden, and that is what we plan to do now." Swedish media report that the service will include books, which will be fulfilled from a warehouse in Eskilstuna.
The EIBF acknowledged that the Swedish bookselling industry, especially within the digital sphere, "faces a tough competitor," but that the book market in Sweden has already undergone a series of digital transformations in the past few years, so Amazon could find its entry more challenging than anticipated.
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| Tanja Messerli | |
Tanja Messerli has become the interim managing director of the Swiss Booksellers and Publishers Association, succeeding Daniel Waser, who took the position in December 2019 and has resigned in order to take on a new challenge, the association said.
Messerli has a strong background in the book industry and communications, most recently heading the bookstore and client communications for the Economic and Executive School in Bern from 2011 until last month.
Messerli will be interim managing director until a new managing director is found. Then she will be the editor-in-chief of Schweizer Buchhandel (Swiss Bookselling) and will head member, media and public communications for the association.