Major book publishers are preparing to boost their business by selling directly to consumers from their websites, a move that has booksellers spooked about being squeezed by their own suppliers.
The publishers say they don't consider the e-commerce strategy as a primary growth vehicle, but many retailers aren't appeased. They warn this could be the thin edge of the wedge -- and that publishers could emerge as an important selling force.
In Canada, some small presses, such as House of Anansi and Harbour Publishing, have already launched virtual shops, while Penguin Group and its sister publisher Pearson Education will roll them out in the next year. Others are considering the move.
"It sets a dangerous precedent," says Pat Joas, manager of the University of New Brunswick Bookstore in Saint John and president of the Canadian Booksellers Association. "At the very least, we can assume that it's going to threaten the livelihood of many booksellers," she says.
"Everybody seems to think they're a bookseller now," Ms. Joas said.
The advent of big publishers pitching books on-line is yet another way in which the sector is being radically transformed, much to the consternation of conventional booksellers.
An array of merchants, from discounters to grocers and drug stores, have pushed into bookselling. Indigo Books & Music Inc. has gobbled up rival superstore chain Chapters, while aggressively promoting books on-line with markdowns and free shipping. Amazon.ca raised the stakes three years ago when it arrived here.
Now, heavyweight global publishers, such as Penguin Group and Pearson Education, both owned by media giant Pearson PLC of London, are pumping up their own deals at new on-line sales divisions.
Pearson, which sells educational and reference books, has gone further. Several years ago, it took a stake in a venture selling subscriptions to electronic book content.
Called Safari, the venture is growing quickly, currently accounting for about 8 per cent of the company's computer book sales, says Gary June, chief marketing officer at Pearson in New Jersey. "It's a trend we see continuing."
Indeed, the entire on-line publishing sector is heading toward selling digital books eventually, Mr. June predicts.
"In a lot of areas, people want to access content electronically," he says. "Strategically, for us, we intend to publish more broadly in different formats, and that offers an opportunity to sell direct."
In Canada, some smaller presses have stepped up to the virtual selling plate, while larger players are contemplating their own on-line shops, insiders say.
They argue that Internet bookselling to consumers will never be a big piece of their business.
"I don't think it's meant or even designed to compete with the retail business," says Ed Carson, president of Penguin in Canada. "It would be a mistake for publishers to see it that way."
Penguin Canada has more than 100,000 visitors every month to its domestic site, he says. Its e-commerce will just be one more service for these browsers.
The publisher will not offer discounts or free shipping, even though Penguin.com trumpets markdowns, he says. "It's not in our business plan right now, that's for sure." And it will have links to other e-booksellers. "I don't think any publisher has visions of becoming Amazon or Chapters. We certainly don't."
Jacqueline Hushion, executive director of the Canadian Publishers Council, representing international companies, says publishers would go bankrupt if they had to rely on selling books on-line, one by one.
"Publishers do not want to focus on selling one-sies," she says. "They just want to provide customer service where it's required."
In any case, the publishers' foray into retailing follows a path that's been well travelled in other industries, she says. After all, Apple computers and Sony electronics have been running stores for many years, in competition with merchants.
"In the end, it's better for the consumer because it will give them access to more products at a lower price," Pearson's Mr. June says.
The lines between supplier and merchant are increasingly becoming blurred, he says. South of the border, large book chains such as Barnes & Noble are publishing their own books, he notes.
For booksellers in Canada, the stakes are high. They are expected to express their concerns about the burgeoning competition from publishers at their annual trade show in Toronto at the end of the month, Ms. Joas of the Canadian Booksellers Association says.
Retailers would like some assurance that publishers will ditch the discounts at their on-line stores, and also list bookstores where the items are sold, she says.
And while booksellers can't stop the inexorable move toward more on-line book buying, "you're sort of looking over your shoulder all the time thinking, 'What's next?' "
