Mike Luckwell buys struggling title from Jon Moulton's private equity company, Better Capital, with plan to target over-50sReader's Digest has been sold for just £1 to Mike Luckwell, whose previous major investments have included Bob the Builder creator HIT Entertainment and WPP.Jon Moulton's private equity company, Better Capital, has offloaded Reader's Digest UK – the waiting room staple that was once the biggest selling magazine in the world – after investing tens of millions of pounds into trying to rejuvenate the struggling business.Luckwell, the venture capitalist whose personal fortune is estimated at more than £135m, has acquired the title with the aim of targeting the "frisky over-50s" group that holiday and insurance company Saga has built a successful business on."Saga cleverly focused on holidays and the financial sector for the over-50s, but now has a finger in many pies," Luckwell said. "Today it has annual sales running into hundreds of millions – that merits a bit of competition."Luckwell said the acquisition will provide access to a database of more than 1.5 million names, of which only 9% have recently purchased a Reader's Digest product."There is significant potential to further develop and utilise those large databases," he said.Better Capital took the business out of administration in a £13m management buy-out in April 2010, and has since ploughed a further £23m into the company.The investment failed to fuel a turnaround at the title, which no longer... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstone's m.d. James Daunt has called Amazon a "ruthless, money-making devil",... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 23/11/2011 - 08:30 W H Smith has launched a colour WiFi Kobo e-reader, priced £169.99 and with a multimedia touch screen and social media tie-in. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For those who still doubt that magazine content has a place in the digital world, new data proves magazines growing digital prowess. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At a time when many magazines are lowering prices or giving content away, New York Magazine is choosing another route. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Wed, 09/11/2011 - 09:30 Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten has acquired e-reading service Kobo for $315 million. The move follows Rakutens acquisition of internet retailer Play.com earlier this year for £25m in cash, as part of the companys European expansion plan. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As budget media tablets race to the bottom on price, ebook readers are the real winners receiving deep price cuts and improved features. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A year and a half since the Apple iPad was introduced, a new study shows that reading news has become a big part of what people use tablets for. But publishers still have a way to go to get people to pay for content on tablets. The newest look at peoples willingness to pay for content is a... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 13/10/2011 - 08:57 Retailers will need to develop and market their own dedicated ebook readers if they are to compete with Amazon, delegates at Frankfurt Book Fair have been told. Speaking at a Google panel about ebooks, Bloomsbury executive... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 13/10/2011 - 09:25 W H Smith has partnered with Kobo to launch the first wifi touch-screen e-reader in the UK later this month. The chain bookseller announced the partnership today (13th October) at the same time as its financial results for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 12/10/2011 - 14:00 A flurry of rights deals have been announced at Frankfurt Book Fair, including a memoir by BBC Radio 2 DJ Jeremy Vine and the history of Britain told through postal stamps. Michael Joseph has acquired world English-language... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Anya Sieg Publication Date: Thu, 06/10/2011 - 17:26 German booksellers Weltbild and Hugendubel have launched their own ebook reader, a week before the Kindle goes onsale in Germany. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There are almost as many ebook surveys as there are digital conferences. Two new surveys released last week provided more information, one on the impact digital readers have had on consumers' reading and book-buying habits, while a second examined the impact of digital publishing on the industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 21/09/2011 - 12:10 Play.com has been bought by Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten for £25m in cash. The move is part of the company's European expansion plan, with Play.com the third company it has bought during the last two years. The deal is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 09/09/2011 - 09:30 Waterstone's is to launch its own e-reader in 2012 inspired by Barnes & Noble's Nook device. Waterstone's m.d. James Daunt has spoken to BBC Radio 4's "You & Yours" programme, on the edition to be broadcast today at 12... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Magazines' homes title Good Housekeeping has launched a new reader recommendation tool for brands to use across marketing material and campaigns. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Moscow-based optical character recognition specialist ABBYY has released a major new update of its renowned OCR application. ABBYY FineReader 11 Professional Edition, which allows users to convert images or scanned documents into editable text, boasts improved processing speeds of up to 45 per... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 01/09/2011 - 08:51 Readers will be able to download the ebook of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for free with the limited edition model of the new Sony Reader. Further details have emerged about the Reader, which is set to go on sale in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 30/08/2011 - 08:38 Details have emerged of Sony's forthcoming e-reader, the Reader PRS-T1. The new device will include wifi and a web browser and multitouch support for a six-inch e-ink pearl display. It will include a stylus to make... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booktour.com, a Web site used by authors and publishers to publicize book signings, readings and other live events since 2007, is closing on September 1. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Glamour wants readers to scan the Facebook icon next to the singer Rihanna, and other icons placed throughout the issue. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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