Take a tourniquet to the supply chain if you like, but order pads will still be scorching hot at CIROBE, the indomitable remainder and promotional book fair that hit the Chicago Hilton from Oct. 25 – 27. “Our best show yet,” crowed a show spokesperson, and indeed, no amount of inventory management can seem to dent the stockpiles here, with buyers and sellers alike chalking up steady traffic amid container-loads of remainders, overstock, hurts, and promotional goods. “We found a number of new customers,” says Deborah Hastings, Publisher of Federal Street Press, attending the fair for her second year. “It was a great show for FSP.” And it was an even greater show for Fairmount, a major Canadian remainder dealer, whose nearby booth was sacked by eager buyers the first day and hosted a constant stream of fairgoers thereafter. But after buyers had sated themselves with the inventory of the remainder dealers, Hastings reports, they warmed to promotional publishers, who could offer wares that were just as interesting, but not limited in terms of availability. “Buyers were serious and businesslike,” she adds. “They spent time discussing what they needed. And then they placed orders.”
One such buyer was Harvard Book Store’s Carole Horne, who says the store has been attending since the show’s beginning more than a decade ago. Part of the fair’s appeal, she explains, is that its timing allows her to acquire books before Thanksgiving for holiday selling. She did note, however, that she and remainder buyer Jerry Justin weren’t seeing the big books as early as they once did, especially for serious nonfiction titles. Publishers now seem to hold on to these for 18 months from publication, which gives the paperback edition some breathing room (a courtesy, we note, that used to be required by contract). Meanwhile, hurts are a larger piece of Horne’s business, now that they can be bought by title and not simply as assortments. All in all, Horne says, remainders represent a significant — and growing — share of the store’s business, and she’ll certainly be coming back for more.
Some buyers suggested that the action had slackened a wee bit compared to previous years, and Book Sales’ Mel Shapiro pointed to the advent of two competing events that may be stealing some of CIROBE’s thunder: the ONBOARD show in Nashville (at the end of August) and the Spring Book Show in Atlanta (deemed “the nation’s second-largest remainder show,” it will kick off on February 28). Other buyers, however, declared themselves fat and happy. Book Club of America Founder Albert Haug, who invented and has exclusive arrangements with a number of suppliers — including S&S, Rodale, National Geographic, and Kensington — says he commits to a certain number of hurts and remainders based on the previous year’s sales. His take on the show? “The number of quality titles is better than ever before,” he boasts. “Business is booming.”
