|
|
| Heather Reisman | |
Indigo Books & Music founder Heather Reisman, who was replaced as CEO last fall, will be retiring and stepping down as executive chair and as a director of the company in August. In addition, four members of Canadian bookstore chain's board of directors have resigned, effective immediately.
"The time has come for me to retire from an active role at Indigo," said Reisman. "Deciding when it is time to move on is one of the toughest decisions a founder must make, but I know this is the right moment for me. I firmly believe the Indigo family, spanning from coast to coast, is the best in the business, and the company has a bright future. Building Indigo over the past 25 years has been the adventure of a lifetime. As I embark on this new chapter, I will be rooting for the company every step of the way."
Board members Frank Clegg, Howard Grosfield, Anne Marie O'Donovan, and Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa have all stepped down. In a statement, the company noted that Dr. Oriuwa had indicated she was resigning as a director "because of her loss of confidence in board leadership and because of mistreatment," adding: "Indigo wishes the departing directors well and thanks each of them for their contributions during their tenure on the board."
---
U.K. booksellers "have reported feeling the pinch recently due to a combination of shifting spending habits and several bank holidays," indicating a sluggish start to 2023, the Bookseller reported, citing its analysis that total volume for the first 21 weeks of the year is down 3.5% compared to 2022, with fiction down 1.3%, trade nonfiction down 4.5%, and children's books down 3.8%. Despite the drop in volume, value is up, with 71.5 million books sold for £631.7 million (about $786 million) thus far this year. Fiction is up 4.7% and trade nonfiction up 3.6% in value.
Noting that the "month-on-month figures don't make for great reading," Tom Rowley, owner of Backstory in London, said: "May's takings were pretty much as poor as February's. I had expected to take a drubbing after Christmas, but May has shocked me.... Three bank holidays didn't help as locals headed out of London or abroad."
Sanchita Basu De Sarkar, owner of London's Children's Bookshop, observed that the store was "a little bit quieter than the previous year, but we're finding it's particularly because of the unusual combination of multiple bank holidays and teacher strikes, which leads to a lot of our families leaving town for a few days at a go, and has meant many of our primary schools have been unable to host book events over May, which also has an overall knock-on effect."
Sarah Dennis, owner of Mostly Books in Abingdon, noted that while sales are down 10% compared to same period last year, "sales earlier in the year were stronger, so it's not particularly consistent."
---
The best bookshop relocation announcement ever was posted on Facebook this week by Alma Libre Bookstore, Puerto Morelos, Mexico: "Greetings my dear free spirited book lovers. Be ye near or far from these ever delightful Caribbean shores, we wish you well. The ratty tat and natty nat nature of the pic you see here is pretty significant. You see, after 25 plus years of wielding the word at our current location, Alma Libre is soon to be on the move. The winds of change have huffed, they have puffed, and they have quiet literally blowed us! Rather than folding up and flitting away, we have chosen instead to bold it, to big it, and to renovate a new and delightful bookish lair.
"We have twice the floor space, some big ol' future plans involving events, classes, live performance, and cultural goodies, and of course, our stubborn optimism remains. Our belief in the essential nature of bookstores and what they mean to a community, rages on! At the end of the week, we shall be closing our doors for a time and beginning the task of packing up and rejigging our giggity gig. Our hope is that in a few short weeks, we shall be back to standard shenanigans in our fancy new locale, just around the corner, by the OXXO, on the road to Chedraui. For all the local peeps who visit us on the regular, fret not, it shall be fantastic, and won't be long. For those of you currently far far away, we are soooo very stoked to have a new and vibrant venue to host you upon return. Here is to next chapters, new stories, and the magic of it all." --Robert Gray