Wottakar’s
The Panda Says “No”
Oliver Bretz
24 November 2006
Non-price effects –
Do not listen to Economists!
Difficult to predict, difficult to model, difficult to
quantify
1
Upstream Price Effects
Authors
Retailers
“Access to
customers”
Manuscripts
Publishers
RRP
{publisher costs
+
payment for access to customer
(“retail margin”)
+
payments to authors}
End Customers
2
Some non-price effects have price
elements:





Reduce number of 3 for 2 offers
Replace all £7.99 titles in the 3 for 2 with
£6.99 titles
Replace a good book in a 3 for 2 with a bad
book
Reduce size of 3 for 2 table
Move 3 for 2 table to a dark or inaccessible
part of the store
3
Other Q factors:





Shopping experience (lighting, heating,
shop fit-out)
Competent staff
Author signings
Child-friendly environment
Eclectic choice
4
R&D Competition:
“Bookshop
Experience”
Merging parties
Dedicated,
knowledgeable staff
providing
pre-sales service,
authors’ signings, etc
Ottakar’s Waterstone’s
Borders
WH Smith
Supermarkets
No face-to-face
pre-sales service,
no authors’ signings, etc
Amazon
Title Range
25,000
50,000
5
Development of an Author:
6
Some non-price evidence:




Store refurbishments (“anti-competitor
works”) and book signings
Higher proportion of more experienced staff
in overlap stores
One publisher spent more than 80% of total
marketing spend through specialist retailers
Over 500 titles per year were promoted by
Ottaker’s and not Waterstone’s
7
A specific example:
8
Conclusion
9
Wottakar’s
The Panda Says “No”
Oliver Bretz
24 November 2006
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