Graeme Underhill in Bertram's enormous warehouse. Photo: Bill Smith
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
9:55 AM
Despite a decline in the UK wholesale book market Bertram Books managing director Graeme Underhill sees huge potential for the company started in Elise Bertram’s chicken shed. Business writer Annabelle Dickson reports
The management team at Bertram Books crack amused smiles as they admit which book is leaving their giant Thorpe St Andrew warehouse the fastest.
But the directors have more to smile about than the raunchy novel Fifty Shades of Grey.
Just three years ago the company was on the brink of collapse – see panel, below. Owned by EUK, part of Woolworths, book stocks were depleting fast as it was cash starved by the parent firm’s troubles.
Over the past couple of years, however, two acquisitions and steady growth have seen an extra 150 jobs created at the Thorpe St Andrew headquarters and the company now operates in 86 countries around the world.
Despite a decline in the UK book wholesale market, managing director Graeme Underhill sees great growth prospects for the company, both in its international and digital ebook business.
He said: “We have stabilised the business having had difficult times when it was in administration. Our strategy is to grow sales in this business. We have brought a more commercial focus to the business and we have been prepared to invest.
“We think there are great prospects for this business and even though people might be concerned about the state of the book market and whether it is in decline and under threat by digital, these are big stable markets that we believe we can grow.”
In Thorpe St Andrew, staff are not just packing the latest popular paperbacks into boxes and sending them off to the bookshops.
The company has come a long way from where it started in Elsie Bertram’s chicken shed as wholesale distributor for Pan Paperbacks in East Anglia – a picture of which hangs in the boardroom in Thorpe St Andrew.
It also supplies public libraries with bar coded and labelled books.
And the chances are if you are a student or academic using your university library for books and journals it will be have been supplied, in hard copy or digitally, by part of the Bertram Books business.
Mr Underhill said: “We have good offers for public libraries, have a good offer in wholesale and we have a good offer with the Dawson digital offer.”
The company bought Europe’s largest supplier of academic books, ebooks and “shelf ready services”, Dawson Books, last year and added to the academic book and journal business with Dutch-based Hootschild earlier this year.
This, Mr Underhill said, was designed to create scale for the business.
All the operations and servicing of the Dawson business has been moved to Norwich creating 60 new Norfolk jobs, leaving just 30 back office staff at its original base at Rushden, in Northamptonshire.
Mr Underhill said: “We see ebooks as a good growth prospect for us and Dawson has got a good ebook platform.”
But how do you make money in a competitive ebook market?
“We are not competing with Kindle or iPad,” said Mr Underhill. “This is a very different model. First of all it is a niche market. We are going out to the academic market and not taking on Apple or Google or Amazon. It also is a credit based system, so the student doesn’t buy the digital book. The university buys credits for the use of that book.”
He said: “We are the market leader and with Dawson books, our market shares are pretty big in the UK, both in digital and in print.
“Both are over 50pc, which is a big market share. We’ve managed to get that market share and continue to build it.
“It is a competitive market out there. There’s plenty of people out there that can do what we do, but to win that share we have to be the best at what we do.”
Buying and marketing director Toby Bourne said the ebook platform for academic libraries was the favoured method of downloading digital content in the UK. He added: “It has got 200,000 books, over 450 publishers from across the world.
“All the big academic publishers support us. It has been growing incredibly quickly. It has been growing 50pc each year.”
But with academic institutions and libraries a big part of the business, with government spending cuts there must be concerns.
Mr Underhill said: “It has made business difficult. If you take the public libraries side of things, it has settled down. If you take 18 months ago then it was very depressed, but it has bounced back this year.
“The local authorities have sorted out their budgets and sorted out where they can make their savings and where they need to spend.
“The book fund is a very small proportion of their overall budget.”
Sales director Jason Cherrington said on the academic side things had changed with the students having to pay more for their education
He explained: “It drives an expectation from students that the quality and availability of books and services of print and ebooks is at a very high level.
“If you are paying £9,000 for a course then you would expect the right content and the availability of that learning tool to be there so that can support the work we are doing.”
But it is not just the digital, library and academic field in which the company can see big growth potential.
Mr Underhill said there was “massive” opportunity for growth in the international market.
He said: “The UK [book wholesale] market is down 10pc, the stats are showing, but these are still big, stable markets. The international markets are growing – particularly for English language books.”
But he said there were still opportunities to grow the wholesale business despite the overall market being down.
“This market we have relatively low market share so there are still massive opportunities for this business.”
In a corner of the warehouse books you can see the names of big companies which are supplied by Bertram Books as the internet continues to grow.
It dispatches books on behalf of Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, The Guardian and the Daily Mail.
However, Mr Underhill insisted that independent book shops were also important.
He said: “Independents are less of the overall turnover of this business than they were 10 years ago, but they still represent an important part of this business.
“There are fewer of them, there is no doubt about it, but our job is to make sure we support them in the best possible way.
“The survival of the independent bookshop on the high street is important, not just for this business but for the country and the availability of books.
“They have been in decline, but it has stabilised and you do continue to see the closures of bookshops exceeding new openings.”
But buying and marketing director Toby Bourne said the company had been delighted with the performance of independent bookshops in the last few months.
“The firm has a forum to help independent booksellers find the right quirky titles to sell across the country.
He said: “We need to make sure we are getting those into the bookshops so people enjoy them and come back again and again and again.
“We are doing everything that we can to support them, from making sure they have the right books, to the way you present them and marketing.”
So what about the future of the company?
Having already made two successful acquisitions, will that strategy continue?
Mr Underhill said: “If the right business comes along that has the right characteristics with the right products that are complementary to our strategy.
“We are looking for other acquisitions. There are a number of opportunities that come our way.
“That would add value. It could be across any of those businesses if the characteristics and price are right.”
annabelle.dickson@archant.co.uk
Shopping centre boss to leave city - Lancashire Evening Post
Ken Williams, who has led the St George’s Shopping Centre for nearly seven years, will take up a similar role at the Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch, Worcestershire, in October.
He said the job had been “interesting, rewarding and career-advancing” and admitted he would miss working with businesses in the city.
Cushman and Wakefield, the property manager which runs the Preston centre for its owners, Aviva Investors, is understood be working to find a replacement.
Mr Williams said: “I had no idea that when I came to head the team here that I would be involved in so many fantastic activities both here at the shopping centre and throughout the city.
“My role has given me tremendous personal development and the people I have got to know have left a vast impression.
“I will undoubtedly miss the people and opportunities that exist in Preston but at the same time I am looking forward to the new challenges presented to me in my new role at the Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch.”
The new role will see him head up nearly one million square feet of shops space housing a bus station, multi-screen cinema and retailers including Primark, Marks and Spencer and Next at the Midlands centre.
He will also step down as chairman of the Preston Business Improvement District (BID) steering group.
Babs Murphy, chief executive of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said Mr Williams had been “a leading influence” in setting up the BID.
She said: “Throughout his time in Preston, Ken has done his utmost to promote the city and has championed Preston as a go-to destination.
“Through his chairmanship played a key role in delivering a successful yes vote for BID’s second term whilst his presence will definitely be missed we wish him well in his new position.”
BT will fight Ofcom’s wholesale price cuts - Broadband Expert (blog)
BT will fight Ofcom’s wholesale price cuts
Aside from providing broadband connections to retail users, BT Broadband also sells wholesale broadband lines through their Openreach division.
Ofcom recently proposed a series of wholesale price cuts, but BT Broadband has announced that they will be fighting the proposals that the regulator has laid out. According to the provider, the price cuts could damage their investment in the infrastructure.
In a statement, BT said: “We have some concerns about the proposals for wholesale Ethernet services pricing outside the London area. We will engage with Ofcom to make our views clear.”
They added: “BT believes regulation should allow a fair return on leased lines products in order to ensure sustainable investment in the future of the UK’s telecoms infrastructure.”
In response, a spokesperson from Ofcom stated: “We found in the review that BT has significant market power in these sub markets – in particular in 1Gbit/sec and above lines outside London. The pricing cap would bring the prices BT can charge down to a cost level, which is what it could have charged if there had been competition – by imposing the cap it reflects what would happen if there were more the one player.”
Hoboken's "Cake Boss" and BJ's Wholesale Club agree to partner in selling his cakes in 15 states - NJ.com
Buddy Valastro and BJ’s Wholesale Club are new partners.
The retailer announced this week it has formed a partnership with TLC’s “Cake Boss” to create two cakes that will be available at the retailer’s 195 stores in 15 states.
To unveil the new cakes, BJ’s and Valastro, who owns City Hall Bake Shop in Hoboken, hosted a “taste off” at the BJ’s Wholesale Club in North Bergen on Monday.
“Da Bomb,” a cake made from chocolate layers and caramel icing, and the “Badda Bloom,” a chocolate and vanilla layer cake with buttercream frosting, will now be available at the stores for $19.99.
There are two BJ’s Wholesale Clubs in Hudson County Jersey City and North Bergen where the cakes can be purchased.
Valastro and TLC partnered with the family-run company Dawn Foods to create a cake line that meets Valastro’s specifications.
Valastro plans to add fondant cakes and cupcakes to the line in the coming year.
Earlier this month, Valastro gave a tour of his baking and distribution center in Jersey City, where he said he was looking to expand to include “old world” bakeries in various locations between Boston and Philadelphia.
My shoe shopping was a 'sickness' due to a lack of affection, claims woman accused of hiding $1m footwear collection - Daily Mail
- Hedge fund manager Daniel Shak abruptly drops lawsuit against ex-wife Beth for a portion of her 1,200 pairs of designer shoes
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A woman being sued over her $1million shoe collection says she is 'relieved' after her ex-husband dropped his legal battle.
Hedge fund manager Daniel Shak, 52, was fighting to win 35 per cent of the value of ex-wife Beth's 1,200 luxury shoes, but yesterday dropped the case.
Poker champion Mrs Shak, 42, gave six hours of testimony at Montgomery County Courthouse near Philadelphia before Mr Shak suddenly stopped his legal action against her.
She said: 'Daniel knew he was going to lose. I'm so relieved that he saw sense and decided to give up on this. It was so stupid.'
Surrounded: Beth Shak with some of her 1,200 pairs of designer heels. She claims it was an obsession bordering on illness
Substitute for love: Mrs Shak said 'There was such a lack of emotion and love in my relationship that I filled that void with shopping... I couldn't stop'
She hit the headlines last month when Mr Shak accused her of hiding around $1million worth of designer shoes in a 'secret room' of their Fifth Avenue apartment during their divorce three years ago.
She has more than 1,200 pairs of shoes, kept in a number of closets that need a PIN code to enter - and even has a tattoo of a Louboutin heel on her hip.
She told Judge Ronda Daniele that a lack of love in her marriage drove her to seek gratification in shopping, spending hundreds of thousands on shoes that she then often simply gave away.
In an interview with the New York Post, Mrs Shak said: 'It really was a sickness... like a disease.
'There was such a lack of emotion and love in my relationship that I filled that void with shopping. I was shopping endlessly, I couldn’t stop.'
Beth is working on her new shoe website, Shoes R Forever, which was inspired by her new boyfriend Ben Cook
No longer pursuing: Daniel Shak instructed his lawyer to drop the lawsuit over the shoes yesterday
Mr Shak had claimed that he did not know the extent of her shoe collection.
But Mrs Shak told the court that her former husband not only knew about the shoes but signed off on all the bills for them. She also told the court that it was her husband's disinterest in their relationship that drove her into retail therapy in the first place.
When asked about the collection, she told judge Ronda Daniele: 'I would not call these shoes a collection, I would call them a sickness at a particular point in my life.'
When Mr Shak suddenly instructed his lawyer to withdraw the lawsuit, Judge Daniele said: 'Well, thanks for wasting everybody's time.'
Outside the court, Mrs Shak to the Post: 'I wanted love and emotional support and affection, but there was nothing... He would always say, "I’m busy. Leave me alone. Just go shopping or something". And I would give in and just go do it.
'God only knows how many pairs of shoes I’ve bought in a week.'
Mr Shak's lawsuit against his ex-wife stated: ‘In the summer of 2011, Daniel became aware that Beth owned and failed to disclose an extensive … collection of Christian Louboutin shoes … and other high-end designer shoes.
‘Dan trusted his wife and was not inspecting his home to try to find inventory or “secret rooms’’.’
The collection is indeed vast and includes 700 pairs of Louboutins, costing from $700 to $4,000.
That, combined with her reputation as a World Series poker player, has made Mrs Shak something of a celebrity in the U.S. She has appeared on television to discuss her shoe habit, and is starting to design her own range of footwear.
Beth Shak with her boyfriend Ben Cook, 36 and part of her shoe collection
Mrs Shak’s most expensive shoes are a pair of black and white cowboy boots once owned by Elizabeth Taylor. She keeps them in a glass cabinet of their own with a framed picture of the actress on the wall above, although she refused to reveal how much they cost.
She now lives in a house near Philadelphia with her two youngest children Lindy, 17, and Austin, 15 – and has four storage areas around the property for all her footwear.
The main closet, which can only be entered using a numerical keypad, is 12ft by 8ft and has eight racks, each full of shoes, going from the floor to the ceiling.
New home: Mrs Shak has moved into this new home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her shoes are in special closets that require a PIN code to enter
A second room also has a numerical keypad and is 4ft by 5ft.
There is also a separate rack in another room, where she keeps her formal shoes, and another cupboard for the remainder.
She said: ‘There are shoes that I don’t even remember buying. I’m so short of space I had to give a couple of hundred pairs away.'
Shanghai ranks No.1 in online shopping - People's Daily Online
SHANGHAI ranked first among domestic cities in terms of online shopping, according to a report released yesterday by Taobao, the country's largest online shopping website.
The cities were ranked based on factors like economic conditions, population, consumer spending and income.
The report divided 2,300 domestic cities into six levels with Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen belonging to first-tier cities, Taobao said.
Shanghai has advanced hardware and software, as well as strong buying power, it said.
Most mid-west cities belong to the fifth- or sixth-tier cities according to Taobao's ranking while coastal areas like Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces have a better online shopping environment.
Higher dispensable incomes as well as better logistics networks created the gap between the coastal areas and less developed markets in the mid-west, the report said.
Nearly 35 percent of Internet users have shopped on Taobao in the past year in first-tier cities while it drops to 23.4 percent in second-tier cities.
Jordana Brewster: Show shopping rocked - Belfast Telegraph
Wednesday Jul 18 2012
Jordana Brewster has "so much fun" with the unlimited shopping budget for her Dallas wardrobe.
The actress plays Elena Ramos in the hit TV series, which follows the wealthy Ewing oil family living in Dallas, Texas.
Jordana boats an enviable wardrobe in the show and loves nothing more than browsing numerous rails of clothes to outfit her on-trend character.
"What I love most about shooting Dallas and working with the wardrobe is that the costume designer takes me shopping," she told InStyle.com. "We literally go to Scoop and Highland Park. She's like, 'Let's go shopping and do it that way.'
"The budget is unlimited in that scenario. I've never had so much fun shopping."
Jordana has explained her character's style must-haves. The 32-year-old star likes having a "very practical" wardrobe on the show.
"My character is pretty low maintenance," she said. "She's always in AG jeans. She's always in flats because she has to work. So she wears flat boots."
Jordana is excited to push the boundaries of Elena's signature style.
"I hope that next season she's in the office a little more and that we get to spruce her up a bit," she exclaimed. "That would be fun."
© Cover Media
Why doesn't she just admit it SHE LIKES SHOES !!!!
- liz, South of the Watford Gap, Southwest Florida, 18/7/2012 18:16
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