Trade Book Publisher Sales Increased Slightly in August 2017

The all-important post-Thanksgiving holiday sales period got off to a subdued start at bookstores around the country this year. As expected, foot traffic was light. The National Retail Federation reported the number of in-store shoppers fell 37% on Black Friday compared with last year while the number of customers who shopped only online through the weekend and on Cyber Monday rose by 44% over 2019. Bookshop.org sold some approximately $2.3 million in books over the period from Friday through Monday, according to Andy Hunter, CEO of Bookshop.org. Unsurprisingly, Amazon.com reported it had its best period ever in the company’s history and noted on a blog post that among its bestselling items were several books, including Barack Obama’s A Promised Land (Crown) and The Deep End (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #15) by Jeff Kinney (Abrams/Amulet); both titles were also cited by nearly all the bookstores surveyed by PW. Other bestsellers at Amazon included Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey (Crown), A Time for Mercy by John Grisham (Doubleday), The Sentinel by Lee Child (Delacorte), and Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (Tor), among adult books, as well as Grime and Punishment (Dog Man #9) by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic/Grafix) in the children’s category.

To celebrate pre-K-12 public, private and homeschool educators and administrators, Barnes & Noble, Inc. will kick off the school year with new Educator Appreciation Days every Saturday and Sunday in August. Starting Saturday, August 5, local stores will feature special discounts* including 25% off most merchandise like books, toys and games; and limited-time giveaways from Sterling Publishing, while supplies last. The offer will also be valid online at www.BN.com Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27. “We are thrilled to announce Barnes & Noble’s Educator Appreciation Days to ring in the new school year,” said Tracy Vidakovich, Vice President, Business Development for Barnes & Noble. “Educators and administrators are one of our most loyal customer bases and we want to continue to show our commitment to them with this initiative and savings on their back-to-school purchases.” Click Read More below for additional details.

Anthropologie Group, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, named three new leaders to advance its next phase of growth. The lifestyle brand, part of the Urban Outfitters portfolio, has promoted Anu Narayanan to president of women’s apparel accessories, weddings and beauty. In addition, the brand named Holly Thrasher as chief merchandising officer of apparel and weddings. Thrasher joined Anthropologie in July 2021 after 18 years at Nordstrom. In a new hiring, Aaron Mutscheller will be joining the company as president of Anthropologie Home and Terrain. In this role, he will be responsible for Anthropologie's home and garden business across all channels of distribution.