Still Smokin'
at CIROBE
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (NOVEMBER 2002)
Take
a tourniquet to the supply chain if you like, but order
pads will still be scorching hot at CIROBE, the
indomitable remainder and promotional book fair that
hit the Chicago Hilton from Oct. 25 – 27. “Our best
show yet,” crowed a show spokesperson, and indeed, no
amount of inventory management can seem to dent the
stockpiles here, with buyers and sellers alike chalking
up steady traffic amid container-loads of remainders,
overstock, hurts, and promotional goods. “We found a
number of new customers,” says Deborah Hastings,
Publisher of Federal Street Press, attending
the fair for her second year. “It was a great show for
FSP.” And it was an even greater show for Fairmount,
a major Canadian remainder dealer, whose nearby booth
was sacked by eager buyers the first day and hosted
a constant stream of fairgoers thereafter. But after
buyers had sated themselves with the inventory of the
remainder dealers, Hastings reports, they warmed to
promotional publishers, who could offer wares that were
just as interesting, but not limited in terms of availability.
“Buyers were serious and businesslike,” she adds. “They
spent time discussing what they needed. And then they
placed orders.”
One such buyer was Harvard Book Store’s Carole
Horne, who says the store has been attending since
the show’s beginning more than a decade ago. Part of
the fair’s appeal, she explains, is that its timing
allows her to acquire books before Thanksgiving for
holiday selling. She did note, however, that she and
remainder buyer Jerry Justin weren’t seeing the
big books as early as they once did, especially for
serious nonfiction titles. Publishers now seem to hold
on to these for 18 months from publication, which gives
the paperback edition some breathing room (a courtesy,
we note, that used to be required by contract). Meanwhile,
hurts are a larger piece of Horne’s business, now that
they can be bought by title and not simply as assortments.
All in all, Horne says, remainders represent a significant
— and growing — share of the store’s business, and she’ll
certainly be coming back for more.
Some buyers suggested that the action had slackened
a wee bit compared to previous years, and Book Sales’
Mel Shapiro pointed to the advent of two competing
events that may be stealing some of CIROBE’s thunder:
the ONBOARD
show in Nashville (at the end of August) and the Spring
Book Show in Atlanta (deemed “the nation’s second-largest
remainder show,” it will kick off on February 28). Other
buyers, however, declared themselves fat and happy.
Book Club of America Founder Albert Haug,
who invented and has exclusive arrangements with a number
of suppliers — including S&S, Rodale,
National Geographic, and Kensington —
says he commits to a certain number of hurts and remainders
based on the previous year’s sales. His take on the
show? “The number of quality titles is better than ever
before,” he boasts. “Business is booming.”
©2002
Publishing Trends
