BTW News Briefs

California Supreme Court Upholds Cities and Counties Right to Ban Big-Box Stores

According an Associated Press report, the California Supreme Court ruled that California cities and counties have the right to prohibit big-box retailers and decide where stores can be located. Last week, the court upheld a Hanford city ordinance that prohibited furniture stores in a commercial district northwest of downtown, while allowing big-box stores to sell furniture in that district. The goal of the ordinance, said town officials, was to maintain the city's downtown, which has many furniture stores, while encouraging growth in the outlying commercial district by drawing large retailers. As long as the ordinance has a "legitimate public purpose" such as protecting a downtown area, it is legal, even if it limited competition, the court ruled. The ruling is expected to affect other big-box battles in California.

Publishing Sales Decrease Slightly for the Spring, Yearly Sales Rise

April books sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers reflected a slight decrease with net sales down by 0.3 percent for the month. Yearly sales rose 6.3 percent compared with last year.

The Adult Hardcover category was down by 11.8 percent for the month of April with sales of $113 million, but sales were up by 19.4 percent year-to-date.  Adult Paperback sales sank by 3.2 percent for the month ($114.9 million), and sales were also down 2 percent for the year. Adult Mass Market deflated by 15.2 percent for April with sales totaling $52.2 million; sales declined by 9.3 percent year-to-date. The Children's/YA Hardcover category increased of 23.9 percent for the month with sales of $47.9 million; sales year-to-date were also up by 20 percent. The Children's/YA Paperback category climbed a dramatic 25.5 percent in April with sales totaling $41.4 million. Overall, sales were up by 8.1 percent for the year.

Audio Book sales posted an increase of 8.1 percent for April; sales for the whole year were up by 14.2 percent. E-books sales grew by 13.8 percent for the month ($2.5 million); the category also posted an increase of 14.2 percent for the year. (E-book figures were compiled in cooperation with the International Digital Publishing Forum).  Religious Books dipped 0.3 percent for the month with sales of $44.2 million; however, sales were up by 4.8 percent for the year.

Sales of University Press Hardcover books were down 5.4 percent in April with sales of $5.0 million; however, sales were up by 2.4 percent for the year. University Press Paperback sales increased by 3.8 percent for the month with sales totaling $2.7 million; sales were up 3.7 percent for the year. Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category posted an increase of 22.2 percent in April ($43.6 million); sales were up 4.8 percent for the year.

Higher Education publishing sales were up by 7.9 percent for the month ($14.1 million); sales were up by 12.7 percent for the year. Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category posted a decrease of 13.1 percent in April with sales of $187.1 million; this category also posted a decrease of 11.1 percent for the year.  (All sales figures are domestic net sales.)