Re: Coutts bought by Ingram

["Joseph J. Esposito" <espositoj@gmail.com>]

I think "the staff" is (are?) correct.

The academic community is understandably wary of consolidation, 
but consider this particular situation.  Ingram is a very good 
company.  They have a flat business in the bookstore sector in 
part because of the growth of the distribution centers at B&N, 
Amazon, and Borders.  Add to this the unfortunate fact that the 
independent bookstores, which were formerly Ingram's lifeblood, 
have only 15% of the trade market (down from 50% 20 years ago). 
The discount wholesalers (e.g., Costco) are serviced by AMS; 
Ingram has no significant position there.  So where to look for 
growth? That's the driver for Ingram, not pushing through price 
increases.

B&T will be affected by this.  Ingram is good at what they do; 
with Coutts they will get some greater library expertise.  Note 
that Ingram can also service libraries with its digital 
capability (Lightning Source, etc.).  I view this as a win for 
Ingram and the academic customers (more and clever competition) 
and a headache for B&T.  I have nothing against B&T, but I do 
like competition.

I would like to see Follett make a stronger play for library 
business. Currently they are dominant in the school market, where 
their reputation for service is very good.

Joe Esposito

----- Original Message -----
From: "Liblicense-L Listowner" <liblicen@pantheon.yale.edu>
To: <liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 9:09 AM
Subject: Coutts bought by Ingram

> Christmas is here -- everyone's buying big prezzies (or at least Wiley,
> CAS, Ingram are).
>
> I believe that previously Coutts' sole owner had been the James Gray (CEO
> of Coutts).
>
> The staff believe that this is a very good match ... brings capital,
> inventory to Coutts; and access to the academic marketplace for Ingram,
> which hasn't been much in this space.
>
> Look for a press release coming soon to an e-mail box or Web site near
> you.
>
> Ann Okerson/Yale Library