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BA: iLiad 'not iPod moment for books'

12.05.08 Graeme Neill

Borders chairman Luke Johnson has said that he does not believe the new iLiad e-book reader represents an "iPod moment" for the book industry.

The reader went on sale in seven Borders stores on Saturday for £399. Borders has sold around 10 readers so far, according to c.e.o. Philip Downer, but in his keynote speech to delegates at the BA conference, Johnson said that it did not mark a tipping point for the industry. "It might appear a very attractive proposition but it's not cheap, there are competing formats and the value of the plain old traditional book will still stand out," he said.

Johnson was bullish about Borders' future as a retailer. The chain currently has an 8% market share, and Johnson said that its sales figures were comparable to Waterstone's which last week reported a like-for-like sales increase of 3.3% for the year ending 26th April. "In some ways the book trade, albeit not as glamorous as some of the other entertainment media complex, is relatively safe. It's such a hugely well established industry and remarkably stable. Overall there are more books being sold than ever before."

However, he said that there was work to do within Borders on implementing new IT systems, switching its distribution methods away from the Cornwall consolidation centre, stock management and improving margins. "Borders is a strong business with considerable untapped potential," he said. "We have a lot of work to do because of the competition and it will be hard [but] I firmly believe people will not stop going to bookshops."

Johnson said that Borders' new transactional website would go live within the next few weeks. Among its features will be the ability for store managers to upload unique content about special offers and events. Customers will be able to have orders delivered to their homes or their local store.

Retail Borders e-books Graeme Neill BA Home Luke Johnson iLiad

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By BooksellingWithoutBorders

"Among its features will be the ability for store managers to upload unique content about special offers and events. Customers will be able to have orders delivered to their homes or their local store." Blimey. Well that certainly isn't Johnson's iPod or 'Eureka' moment. Waterstones.com have allowed staff to upload reviews and event details since 2006! With Roche Gone, the consolidation centre closing, which will mean less time for staff to spend on customer-facing tasks as they'll be occupied with supply-chain rigmarole (""One of the great strengths of good book retailers are the booksellers themselves" - well let them sell then!), and the prospect that Waterstone's, according to "rumours" will be selling the PSR-500 at around half the r.r.p. of Borders' iLiad, what "direction" is Johnson supposed to be taking Borders? According to the BookRabbit blog, Johnson went so far as to claim that supermarkets aren’t a threat. Tesco's seem to be making more money than Shell or BP these days and recently announced its aim to double their book sales within three years, which will earn them a 10% slice in the book trade's pie — 2% more than Borders. Still "no threat"?? Keynote? Sounds like bum note!

12 May 08 16:38

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