Macmillan communications “confusing” say booksellers

Macmillan Publishers’ letter to New Zealand booksellers of January 10 re: Macmillan’s warehouse and distribution of stock transferring to Australia is confusing and doesn’t tell the whole story say some Kiwi booksellers.

“They could do a lot better, but I’m not losing sleep over it,” says Tim Blackmore of Page and Blackmores.

Hamish Wright of Wrights Bookshop Cambridge and Jeff Grigor of Timaru’s Chapter and Verses are rather more concerned.

Macmillan’s didn’t tell customers where they would be able to get stock of The Road Code, nor have they advised of return dates and conditions for Walker Books, or for Quercus titles now the agency is shifting to Allen & Unwin.

What Macmillan’s did tell customers in the letter - a new cap on returns - is causing concern. “A return (sic) cap of 15% MAT of a customer’s gross purchases of Macmillan and Agency titles will apply.” (MAT is moving annual total of purchases.)

The concerned booksellers ask: Will this apply to the January to March books we have ordered in good faith as being fully sale or return? How will we know where we stand as the percentage total moves over the course of a year? Why was 15% set without consultation with the trade?

Wright has a further query: if a bookseller inadvertently happens to return books over the 15% limit, what will happen to those goods? Will they still be the property of the retailer or will they be pulped without consultation?

Wright is also bemused by the small order surcharge of $20 for orders below $150 nett in value. “We didn’t ask Macmillan to relocate distribution to Australia. Why should we suffer? I want to be reassured orders will be aggregated to avoid charges.”

Grigor says clear communications have been received from AUP and Exisle both of whose titles will change distribution in NZ as a result of Macmillan’s move. “But we haven’t heard from Macmillan themselves where we will get the The Road Code, or whether they will retain distribution of AUT Media’s Awesome Aotearoa.”

Note: David Bateman will be the new distributors of The Road Code publications from February 1, as advised in an announcement made on Booksellers NZ’s website on January 17.

COMMENT FROM Paul Donovan,Executive Director,Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd: "Regarding Jeff Grigor's comments (Macmillan Communications piece) about Quercus "now that the agency is shifting to Allen and Unwin", this not the case. A&U represented Quercus as part of Murdoch up until the 31st December when the Quercus agency moved to Macmillan."