Target

We've learned this year that there's no sitting still in the publishing world. To that end, we here at Book Business are excited to share some big personnel news in our own shop.

Amazon.com says its new Kindle Fire tablet and Kindle e-readers will be available in more than 16,000 stores across the U.S. starting on Nov. 15, touting its retail partnerships with such giants as Best Buy and Target a day after rival Barnes & Noble poked fun at Amazon for lacking its own stores

To end the year with a bang, we traditionally publish our annual Business Tips issue, featuring x number of tips on a variety of topics (this year, 65+ tips!). Our columnists, not typically list-makers by nature, graciously cooperate and submit their columns in tips format to go with our theme

Business buyers are professional people trying to make rational decisions for the good of their companies. The decision process can be lengthy since they have to justify the large expenditure. But if all goes as planned, you've not only sold a large quantity of books on a non-returnable basis, you have also set the stage for recurring revenue as they place blanket orders or buy other titles that you offer.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)’s profit margins, already at a five-year low last quarter, are set to narrow next year as the world’s largest online retailer sells its new tablet computer for half the price of the iPad.

Apple made headlines Tuesday by passing Exxon Mobil  to become the world's most valuable company in market capitalization, making a dramatic turnaround from being nearly broke years before. Now it's time to ask what company might be next in line to make a similar transformation.

At the moment, all indications point to Amazon, the company that began as an online bookseller but now is directly challenging Apple with its new Kindle Cloud Reader that bypasses Apple's App Store by offering books and other down-loadable content through the Web instead of a native iOS app.

In just a few days, Google's iriver Story HD e-reader will go on sale. The industry impact should be substantial.

The executive who is steering Ann Arbor-based Borders Group Inc. through bankruptcy said in an exclusive interview with AnnArbor.com that he is confident the bookstore chain can emerge from court protection as a viable company.

But he also acknowledged that the company’s future is dependent on the willingness of publishers to agree to new terms under which they would continue to ship books to the company’s remaining stores.

“All I can tell you is that we are here fighting to the end,” Borders Inc. CEO Mike Edwards said in a rare interview.

Borders Group's recent bankruptcy filing and announced closing of more than 220 stores nationwide seems to warrant a closer look at trends in book retailing.

An interesting article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, "As Big Boxes Shrink, They Also Rethink," described how the major discount stores and warehouse clubs are rethinking their business models and downsizing as people are buying more products online. Two examples are the Best Buy Mobile stores with a focus on smartphones, and the smaller stores that Wal-Mart is rolling out (40,000 square feet versus its 185,000-square-feet superstores).