Pranab’s book caught in e-tailer vs retailer battle

To be available only on Amazon for 20 days

The then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee seen with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at the National Development Council Meeting held in New Delhi on July 12, 1984.

The battle between brick-and-mortar retailers and e-tailers has not left untouched even President Pranab Mukherjee’s new book. Traditional bookstores have now decided to boycott The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years.

The book, published by Rupa & Co., will be released exclusively on Amazon.in on December 11 and will be available for sales only on the website till December 31. In other words, readers cannot get a copy of the President’s work from their neighbourhood bookseller till the New Year.

Bookstores across the nation are up in arms saying competition in the Indian publishing industry has been upset by such exclusive sales. The boycott, their way to pay Rupa back in the same coin, has already started in many parts of the country as the stores have started returning stocks.

Speaking to The Hindu over the phone, Kapish Mehra, managing director, Rupa & Co, declined to comment why such a marketing strategy was adopted for the President’s book. Asked if the author was part of the decision-making process, Mr. Mehra said that as a publisher, he had to “take care of the interests of the publisher and the author and usually such decisions are taken in consultation with the author.” He refused to comment on the boycott threat.

Turf war

The unprecedented development is perceived as part of the turf war between the Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart and the global behemoth Amazon.

“However, caught in the crossfire is India’s knowledge industry,” Ravi Deecee, chief executive officer and managing partner of DC Books, said.

Traditionally, book sales are carried out in a more leisurely pace, through the bond between the reader and his neighbourhood bookseller. Suddenly new algorithms are being brought in by these online retailers, he said and added that the traditional publishing industry would be doomed if a level-playing ground was not ensured.

Paresh Shah, chief executive officer of the Karnataka-based Sapna Books, said in a telephonic interview that the government should come up with regulations which offered a level-playing ground for brick and mortar retailers.

Above all such concerns raised by them, there is the embarrassment the brick and mortar retailers face of not having the President’s book in their stores for the first many days.

“We hope the author himself will intervene and make sure that all readers will be provided with a level-playing field to read his book,” Mr. Shah said.