Andrew Gawith:  Book industry faces a new chapter

New Zealand Hearld -  Tuesday Mar 16, 2010

Even the most conservative of soothsayers would also suggest that it's likely that the physical premises of booksellers will shrink and more people will never visit a physical store because they don't have to. Commercial property companies take note.

On the other hand, electronic direct mail for bookreaders will become big business. The seamlessness of sending out a virtual direct mail with samples of the latest books and the ability to buy immediately online will change the way books are marketed.

Appliance and brownware sellers will do well, at least initially. While the early price point for iPads and Kindles will probably be high, the fierce competition from a plethora of other suppliers will drive prices down and margins with them.

Any Harvey Norman or Noel Leeming managers reading this should go out now and try to get an agency for an ebook reader.

Distribution and logistics operators for books will be hit hard. Books are big, heavy and require careful packing. The industry that exists around this can reasonably expect their throughput to be halved over coming years.

Read Andrew Gawith's full piece at the New Zeland Herald online.