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The latest:
Canadian wholesalers worry libraries turning to the U.S.
May 6, 2008: The Association of Canadian Book Wholesalers has raised an alarm about Canadian libraries turning to American wholesalers due to the rise of the Canadian dollar. In a press release, the ACBW says...
How the loonie stole Christmas: indie holiday sales 2007
January 11, 2008: “It’s been hell.” “Our December was grumpy.” “It was getting a little ridiculous.” “Grisly.” “It was very disheartening.” “The damage was immense.” “Horrific.” “The fun was gone this year, for the first...
Latest pricing tweaks: Wiley Canada
January 8, 2008: John Wiley & Sons Canada says that as of Jan. 3, 2008, the markup on all titles will be reduced to 1.1 over the U.S. price. Wiley will also offer booksellers an...
The ongoing pricing problem
January 1, 2008: The fall of 2007 will be remembered as a watershed moment in the Canadian book business. Last September, when the value of the Canadian dollar matched the American one for the first...
Price discounts boosting sales: booksellers
December 14, 2007: In the thick of the holiday shopping season, some booksellers are reporting a boost in sales over last year – but generally only if they’ve marked down their stock to compensate for...
Booksellers, publishers weigh options as dollar dips
December 7, 2007: The Canadian dollar dipped below par this week, and at least one bookseller is pulling back on the consumer discounts it had been offering. But others are holding firm for now, and...
Latest pricing announcement: Dec. 4, 2007
December 4, 2007: North 49 Books: The Ontario wholesaler has announced a pricing-related twist for its annual selection of recommended titles. Typically, each holiday season North 49 promotes anywhere from 20 to 40 “Most Valuable...
Latest pricing announcements: Nov. 27, 2007
November 27, 2007: The latest announcements from publishers. Drawn & Quarterly: Par pricing for all frontlist titles and backlist titles as they're reprinted. Georgetown Publications: All...
Printers adjust to dollar's rise
November 20, 2007: Canadian booksellers and publishers aren’t the only ones suffering because of the rising Canadian dollar. Printers are hurting, too, though less dramatically so far. The biggest player in...
Latest pricing announcements, Nov. 16, 2007
November 16, 2007: The latest announcements from publishers and booksellers. Publishers Bayard Canada: Moving to par rate on all titles imported from U.S. H.B. Fenn and...
S&S and Penguin eliminate dual-pricing
November 13, 2007: Two multinational companies are announcing some major pricing changes, to take effect in the early days of the new year. Penguin Canada got the ball rolling last Friday...
Pricing update: not all booksellers discounting
November 13, 2007: In response to pressure and sometimes hostility from customers, an increasing number of booksellers are selling dual-priced books at par with U.S. prices. But some are holding fast. "I’m talking to so...
Booksellers keep wrestling with parity
November 2, 2007: In response to increasing consumer frustration over the gap between U.S. and Canadian book prices, a number of booksellers across the country are taking steps to reduce in-store prices – even if...
Oxford, Pearson take strides toward parity pricing
November 2, 2007: As the Canadian multinational houses fret about the rising Canadian dollar and the accompanying consumer unrest, some of them are inching closer to pricing parity with the U.S. market. Earlier this week,...
Canadian publishers pushed toward parity pricing
November 2, 2007: So far discussion of the price parity issue has mostly focused on Canadian firms that import books from the U.S. But parity is now also starting to affect domestic houses that export...
Loonie hurts Harlequin again
November 2, 2007: Harlequin Books was hit by the Canadian dollar surge in third-quarter results released this week. The multinational romance publisher, which is owned by Torstar, saw a slight rise in...
The dual pricing duel
November 1, 2007: Last week I bought a CD, and the value of the Canadian dollar never even crossed my mind. At the time, the loonie was at par with the U.S....
Booksellers and publishers say Finance Minister’s comments are troubling
October 26, 2007: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty did not endear himself to Canadian booksellers or publishers this week when he waved a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows around, complaining that he paid...
Dollar parity renews questions about book pricing
September 25, 2007: News of the Canadian dollar reaching parity with the U.S. dollar last week came with a lot of bad press for the publishing business. Dual U.S.-Canadian pricing on books made for a...
More publishers adjust Canadian prices
July 27, 2007: As the Canadian dollar remains close to the 95-cent mark compared to the U.S. dollar, publishers are announcing plans to reduce the discrepancy between Canadian and U.S. prices for imported books....
Publishers try to narrow gap between U.S. and Canadian prices
July 10, 2007: Just as the Canadian dollar surpassed a 30-year high at 95 cents against the U.S. dollar, Canadian publishers who import American books are responding in a variety of ways to pressure from...
The exporter’s dilemma
January 1, 2007: With the Canadian dollar performing at its highest rate in almost 30 years (typically hovering just below the 90-cent mark) not only have book importers been feeling the pressure (as has been...
Oxford University Press lowers Canadian prices
October 19, 2006: The continuing strength of the Canadian dollar has Oxford University Press lowering prices on its imported titles to better reflect current exchange rates, following the lead of other academic presses such as...
Strong loonie keeps on hurting Harlequin
August 4, 2006: Currency exchange rates continued to eat into Harlequin’s profits in second-quarter results released this week. The firm recorded a $17-million drop in revenue in the quarter, largely because of “currency movements.”...
Dealing with the dollar
June 9, 2006: With the Canadian dollar soaring so high over the past few months – it currently stands at just under US$0.90 – publishers and booksellers have been feeling pressure from consumers to adjust...
Canadians talk pricing at BEA
May 19, 2006: At a BookExpo America panel discussion about the Canadian market on Thursday, Canadian publishers and booksellers took the chance to talk over a hot subject: the effect of currency exchange rates on...
Strong Canadian dollar plaguing Harlequin
May 5, 2006: The strength of the Canadian dollar has hurt the bottom line at Harlequin Enterprises and its parent company Torstar in the first quarter of 2006, but an executive at the romance novel...
Stronger dollar unlikely to bring lower spring prices
December 7, 2004: The continued strength of the Canadian dollar is making it difficult for publishers to price U.S. titles. Canadian copyright law allows publishers to mark up American titles to 10% over the exchange...
Caution: falling prices
September 1, 2004: Over the past year, booksellers have been irked by prices on imported U.S. titles, saying that they fail to reflect the strengthened Canadian dollar. Now, however, publishers seem to have finally gotten...
Waiting for prices to drop
May 1, 2004: Nearly a year after the surge of the Canadian dollar, publishers are finally beginning to adjust the prices of imported U.S. titles to better reflect the loonie’s strength. But in many cases...
Exchange rates dent McGraw-Hill Ryerson results
April 27, 2004: A slightly weaker Canadian dollar is cited as a primary cause of the losses reported by McGraw-Hill Ryerson in their first quarter results. Many of the Canadian firm’s transactions...
Broadview sales grow in Q3 – but dollar dampens profits
November 28, 2003: Broadview Press reported solid sales growth in the third quarter, but the strengthening Canadian dollar put a damper on the publisher’s profits. For the three-month period ending on Sept....
Book prices stay high, despite falling greenback
November 21, 2003: Some booksellers say their customers are beginning to wonder why the prices for American books remain high even after the U.S. dollar has weakened. In recent weeks, the U.S....
Strong Canadian dollar hurts Harlequin revenues
October 31, 2003: For the second quarter in a row, a strong Canadian dollar has dampened revenues at Harlequin Enterprises. In third-quarter results released this week by Harlequin’s parent company, Torstar, the romance publisher reported...
Flight of the loonie
May 13, 2003: The recent surge in value of the Canadian dollar – which yesterday closed at almost 72 cents U.S. – is good news for Canadian consumers of U.S. goods. But while some Canadian...
Import prices come under pressure
January 1, 2003: Some booksellers say their customers are beginning to wonder why the prices for American books remain high even after the U.S. dollar has weakened. For most of the late...