The sixth largest commercial book publisher in the U.S. has contracted a Vancouver company to distribute its books across Canada, thereby shunning many large Toronto-based book distributors.
New York-based Macmillan Publishers chose Raincoast Book Distribution Ltd. to handle sales, distribution and marketing for the Macmillan imprints previously sold by H.B. Fenn and Co.
“It’s a big deal because of how big they are as a publishing entity,” Raincoast’s vice-president of marketing Jamie Broadhurst told Business in Vancouver June 9.
“They’re based in New York and their logistics and operations is in Virginia, yet they’ve chosen to go with a Vancouver-based company because, lo and behold, we can ship books across the country faster than some of the companies based in Toronto.”
Raincoast got out of book publishing three years ago, although that was always a small part of the company’s business. Now, it focuses on selling, marketing and distributing books from around the world.
Both companies will begin transitioning immediately and Raincoast will be responsible for selling Macmillan’s fall lists.
Glen Korstrom
Twitter: GlenKorstrom