Raincoast Books, the Canadian co-publisher and distributor of the Harry Potter series, is closing its Canadian publishing operations and cutting its workforce by 10% to 15%. Instead, the company will focus on its distribution and wholesale business.
Raincoast launched its publishing operations in 1995, and represents about 50 domestic and foreign-owned publishers, including Lonely Planet, Bloomsbury UK, and Bloomsbury US. More than three-quarters of their business is generated by importing books from the US.
Raincoast CEO Allan MacDougall said “This has been a necessary but very painful cost-cutting decision made all the more difficult by the exceptional calibre of writers and the staff we have cultivated over the last few years.” The domestic publishing unit has been never been profitable, and expects to finish out the Spring 2008 season with a planned 15 titles.
Vice President of Marketing Jamie Broadhurst noted that “no credit protection has been sought, in fact it has never been considered as the financial fundamentals of Raincoast remain very healthy. It is business as usual at Raincoast and the company continues to sell and ship books to customers on both sides of the border. The announcements of cost cutting is a direct result of the impact of the appreciation of the Canadian dollar during Fall 2007. It is our belief that the retail book environment in Canada has irrevocably changed and that we must adapt in order to continue thriving as a company.”