Pan Mac finalises schedule changes as Amazon sales slow

Pan Macmillan says it is finalising changes to its publishing programme and warned online sales have slowed owing to the UK's coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

In an update sent to authors and clients, Pan Mac said its UK warehouse was still operational but it faced challenges internationally, including South Africa where the office and warehouse had been closed, and in India where 1.3 billion people are in lockdown.

Back in this country, supermarket sales remain “strong”, the publisher said, but Amazon's move to focus on essential goods had seen sales from the retail giant slow.

In better news, orders were coming in from China and there had been a resumption in stock orders from other parts of Asia. The company has reported “strong children’s co-edition prospects from around the world with good activity in February and March, with confirmed deals almost at last year’s levels”.

The firm also said on Monday (30th March) it was finalising the changed release dates of its books to mitigate the problems brought on by shops closing.

It said: “The company was due today to finalise changes to its publishing programme based on its latest information on the changing retail landscape around the world, and indicated that editors would be communicating with their authors about potential title moves in the next week. Pan Macmillan said it would continue to keep its publishing programme under review and that June titles will be reviewed over the next couple of weeks.”

Pan Mac also announced there was a delay in royalty statements from June to December being sent out owing to the lockdown. However, it said payments were processed as normal and it was trying to contact all agents and authors to provide a digital version of the statements.

It said: “For those authors with unearned advances where there is no royalty payment due, the company was asking for patience until the offices are open and post could be dispatched.”