EVERLY BOOKS PUBLISHING GROUP
Distributors
Booksellers, libraries, and publishers all turn to Ingram Book Company (IBC) when in need of a good book. With a library of more than 2 million titles, IBC is a leading wholesale distributor of books, e-books, and audiobooks to more than 70,000 retail and library customers worldwide. It is a business unit of recently formed Ingram Content Group, which encompasses about a dozen companies involved in the wholesale distribution of books, periodicals, music, DVDs, foreign-language products, medical reference titles, children's books, religious titles, and hard-to-find books. Both IBC and parent Ingram Content Group are owned by Ingram Industries.
If you've strolled through a library recently, you likely saw a lot of Baker & Taylor (B&T) without knowing it. The #1 supplier of paper and digital books to libraries, B&T primarily serves two types of markets. Its core business distributes books, videos, and music, and provides value-added services to thousands of school, public, and specialty libraries worldwide. The firm's retail unit supplies storefront and online book and music retailers, as well as independent booksellers, with a million book titles and about 385,000 DVD and CD titles. On the Internet (where it formerly operated as Informata.com), B&T offers B2B e-commerce fulfillment services. B&T is owned by investment firm Castle Harlan.
What began as Earth's biggest bookstore has become Earth's biggest everything store. Expansion has propelled Amazon.com in innumerable directions. While the website still offers millions of books, movies, games, and music, electronics and other general merchandise categories, including apparel and accessories, auto parts, home furnishings, health and beauty aids, toys, and groceries ring up about 60% of sales. Shoppers can also download e-books, games, MP3s, and films to their computers or handheld devices, including Amazon's own portable e-reader, the Kindle. Amazon also offers products and services, such as self-publishing, online advertising, e-commerce platform, hosting, and a co-branded credit card.
Barnes & Noble does business -- big business -- by the book and the Nook. As the #1 bookseller in the US, it operates about 1,340 bookstores, including some 705 Barnes & Noble superstores and another 635 college bookstores (25% of sales), in all 50 states and Washington, DC. Stores range in size from 3,000 sq. ft. to 60,000 sq. ft. in size and stock between 60,000 and 200,000 book titles. Many locations contain Starbucks cafes, as well as music departments with more than 30,000 titles. In cyberspace, the company conducts business through Barnesandnoble.com (BN.com), which generates about 12% of sales. In 2009 Barnes & Noble introduced the Nook e-book reader. E-books are powered by Google Books.
