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Amazon UK to stop selling Bloomsbury's books
Amazon UK has said that it will cease selling Bloomsbury’s print and e-books from midnight on 23rd January, saying negotiations between the giant retailer and the publisher had broken down.
A statement put out by the retailer explained that it had been unable to negotiate new terms with the publisher, despite extending the contract. Bloomsbury has yet to comment but the action could seriously wound the publicly-quoted publisher, and re-open old sores between Amazon and trade publishers over trade terms.
The Amazon statement reads: "Our contract to sell Bloomsbury titles was scheduled to expire last year. We extended the contract under its current terms several times in an effort to reach an agreement, but despite our best efforts over the last seven months, Bloomsbury has refused to engage in a good faith negotiation to discuss a new contract to sell their titles in our store. Unfortunately, the latest extension expires at midnight on the 23rd January and after that time, Amazon will no longer be able to sell Bloomsbury print books in the UK, Europe, and Australia, or Bloomsbury Kindle books worldwide."
It is also a high risk strategy for Amazon, which will disenfranchise a number of Bloomsbury’s bestselling and high profile writers including Sarah J Maas, Gillian Anderson, and JK Rowling. The move extends to the publisher’s print books and Kindle titles, though Amazon stressed that customers could still buy print titles for third-party sellers off its site. Print books sold off its US site are not impacted.
The news comes as the UK Government has increased powers to sanction tech companies by nominating them as having Strategic Market Status, as well as coming just hours after the CMA said it would investigate Google and Apple over their mobile ecosystems.
Amazon’s statement continued: "Our expired terms with Bloomsbury were far out of sync with other publishers who sell books through our store. Unlike other UK publishers, with whom we’ve successfully negotiated in recent years, Bloomsbury has refused to recognize our continued investments in bringing books in all formats to readers."
The Bookseller has reached out to Bloomsbury for comment.
It is more than a decade since Amazon last attempted to strong-arm a big trade publisher by de-listing titles. In that case Hachette and the giant retailer fought a very public battle that lasted months.
More soon . . .
