The bookstore – News – Amazon UK stops selling Bloomsbury’s books

Amazon UK has said it will stop selling Bloomsbury’s print books and e-books from midnight on January 23, saying talks between the giant retailer and the publisher had broken down.

A statement from the retailer explained that it had been unable to negotiate new terms with the publisher despite extending the contract. Bloomsbury has yet to comment, but the move could seriously hurt the publicly quoted publisher and reopen old wounds between Amazon and trade publishers over terms of trade.

The Amazon statement read: “Our contract to sell Bloomsbury titles was scheduled to expire last year. We extended the contract under its current terms several times in an attempt to reach an agreement, but despite our best efforts over the last seven months, Bloomsbury has refused to enter into good faith negotiations to discuss a new contract to sell their titles in our store.Unfortunately, the latest extension expires at midnight on January 23rd and after this time Amazon will will no longer be able to sell Bloomsbury print books in the UK, Europe and Australia or Bloomsbury Kindle books worldwide.”

It’s also a high-risk strategy for Amazon, which will poach a number of Bloomsbury’s best-selling and high-profile authors, including Sarah J Maas, Gillian Anderson and JK Rowling. The move extends to the publisher’s print books and Kindle titles, though Amazon emphasized that customers could still buy print titles from third-party sellers outside of its site. Print books sold from its US website are not affected.

The news comes as the UK government has increased powers to sanction tech companies by designating them as having Strategic market status, as well as coming hours after the CMA said it would investigate Google and Apple over their mobile ecosystems.

Amazon’s statement continued: “Our expired terms with Bloomsbury were way out of sync with other publishers who sell books through our store. Unlike other UK publishers with whom we have successfully negotiated in recent years, Bloomsbury has refused to recognize our continued investment in bringing books in all formats to readers.”

The bookseller has contacted Bloomsbury for comment.

It’s been more than a decade since Amazon last tried to bolster a major trade publisher by removing titles. In that case, Hachette and the giant retailer fought a very public battle that lasted months.

More soon. . .