Potter publisher practices price paralysis

[kingandy]

So, Asda won't be selling the Deathly Hallows on Saturday. At this moment. Probably.

If you believe Bloomsbury it's because Asda hasn't paid; Asda, on the other hand, is of the opinion it's because they were going to sell it below the RRP. Of course, whichever of those you believe, this seems to be a case of Asda trying one on, and Bloomsbury not standing for it.

What the hell were they thinking? Yes, Asda is recently a member of the Wal*Mart Family, that globe-spanning conglomerate of calamitous intent, and if it wasn't used to getting its own way before, then its new owners certainly are. But still. This is Harry Potter we're talking about. With this brand you do not fuck.

That said, I'm slightly torn ... though it is nice to see somebody derailing Wal*Mart's general marketing strategy of "sell cheap, destroy competition", at the same time, Bloomsbury (thanks in large part to the Potter franchise) is certainly no lightweight, and it's not so great that a publisher feels it can fix prices in this way. If that is indeed what has happened.

It's basically a pissing contest, really, isn't it?

Comments

[mj-uk.livejournal.com]

my dads bigger than your dad

Price fixing

[renniek.livejournal.com]

I doubt it's price fixing. The last 2 Harry Potter books (at least) have been sold at way below the RRP by every single major supermarket and several other shops. It'd be downright weird for Bloomsbury to react against the problem only now, and target Asda while ignoring Tescos, Sainsburys, Amazon and all of the other retailers that sell Harry Potter books below their RRP.

I suspect the "we were just trying to go against their evil money-grabbing price fixing!" line is just a PR move by Asda

[jfs.livejournal.com]

You're too young to remember the Net Book Agreement, aren't you? :-)

Even if it is Bloomsbury trying to stop Asda massively undercutting the independent booksellers, it's too little, far too late.

When the last Potter tome came out, there were stories in the newspapers of small bookshops getting their stock from Asda, Tesco et al. because the big stores were selling them as a loss leader, and at a price that was actually lower than the small bookshops could pay for them from the distributors.

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

The idea of Asda/Walmart accusing anyone else of blatant profiteering is just too sick to even be funny.

[mrssshhh.livejournal.com]

As blatant a lie as it is, I have to say the Asda PR line does carry a little bit of weight.

Though personally I don't read Potter (and, I have to say, I'm genuinely f*cked off that they've chosen my birthday to release the final book on, for a number of reasons) I have looked at the prices in the past, and Asda's PR line is correct - Bloomsbury *are* profiteering.

They know that every kid is going to want it, and through the joys of peer pressure, no-one is going to want to be the kid who gets left out. So they can charge whatever they like; people are going to have to buy the book (for themselves or for their children) in order to remain socially acceptable.

I'm saddened that smaller bookshops are essentially being screwed by the whole deal, but that is as much to do with the popularity of the brand as it is to do with evil money-grabbing.

You have to look at it from a marketing point of view. The Potter franchise is unbelievably powerful; if it's in the news then people are going to take notice. So, the marketing teams look at it this way;

Asda have a stock allocation of 500,000 books.
A successful TV and print marketing campaign at prime time with maximum coverage will cost upwards of £5-10 million.
Selling the 500,000 books at a £2 loss and carefully spitting in the publisher's eye will cost Asda only £1 million, will attract lengthy primetime coverage from the news, and will also fix am image in the public's mind that Asda are championing value and fighting for affordability for the common man.

Of course, behind the scenes, Asda would never allow themselves to lose the right to distribute Potter, and I doubt they were ever in any real risk of doing so.

This is a massive success for Asda, and it's fiendishly intelligent. It's also going to work.

Meh, there's times I feel like Will Graham in Manhunter / Red Dragon. :(

[kingandy]

Ach, I always forget to look behind the lines. Why would they imagine that they could fight Harry Potter? They wouldn't, but they know exactly how much press they'll get by pretending to do so. Now you say it, it's obvious...

"Meh, there's times I feel like Will Graham in Manhunter / Red Dragon. :("

I'm sure you do, but you can't have him.

[kingandy]

Yeah but I've got a bigger d

[mj-uk.livejournal.com]

not... saying... a... word...

[ephrael.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you do, but you can't have him.

Why not?

[reindeerflotila.livejournal.com]

Because he is defended by chuck Norris, obviously.


:P