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New indie buying group launches

16.04.07 Joel Rickett

A new buying group for independent booksellers is launching in the UK, headed by former Ottakar's marketing director Paul Henderson. The venture, Leading Edge, was founded in Australia where it has 175 member bookshops. They are given access to a centralised website with a range of promoted titles, as well as marketing support such as customer catalogues. They can opt to buy the stock via wholesalers or direct from publishers.

The move follows a blitz of publisher and retailer-led buying groups, including Faber's Independent Alliance and the THE/Walker Books consortium. It comes amid upheaval in the UK supply sector, with the Competition Commmission investigating the sale of Bertrams to EUK and its planned merger with THE.

Henderson, who has written The Bookseller's Paperback Preview supplements, said that Leading Edge would provide a much-needed profile for the sector: "We can give independents an industry voice and a sense of community. The BA can't be solely representative of indies—its role is to be a general trade body. We can champion independents."

The service will begin to gather members in May, offering a free six-month subscription. The full fee is expected to be £130 per month, for access to an initial range of 150 to 200 titles a month at special terms. It pitches itself as a "completely transparent and accountable support group whose success is predicated on being able to provide value to all parties".

Henderson denied that recent closures of UK independents indicated it was a poor time to launch the venture: "There's actually some sense of security for indies, with no Ottakar's to open against them and a consumer backlash against supermarkets. There is a real thirst for a thriving, vibrant and differentiated independent books sector, which I believe we can really help."

Henderson said the advantage for publishers was visibility of their sales through small outlets. "Publishers are keen to have a relationship with indies and a more open picture about where their books are being sold," he said. He claimed early support from Bloomsbury, Faber, HarperCollins, Hachette, Pan Macmillan and Random House Group, as well as wholesalers Bertrams, Gardners and THE. "We are not trying to replace wholesalers—we are keen to work with everyone."

This article was first published in The Bookseller's London Book Fair Daily, 16 April. To view a digital version of the Daily, click the link below.

The Bookseller London Book Fair Daily - Day One

Publisher Retail Joel Rickett Paul Henderson London Book Fair Independents Leading Edge

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