Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Publishers, suppliers owed $12.6m by the Co-op, Curious Planet

The Co-op Bookshop and its Curious Planet stores owed $12.6 million to publishers and toy sellers as of last week, with $8.8 million owed for stock delivered and services rendered at least 90 days prior, reports the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).

According to documents seen last week by the SMH and the Age, the Co-op owed John Wiley & Sons more than $1 million, and owed 26 suppliers—including the University of Western Australia, Australia Post and toys wholesaler Independence Studios—more than $100,000 each.

According to some suppliers, the Co-op’s head office has said it will pay debts with revenue from the Christmas trading period, while some suppliers are on payment plans to ease concerns. A Co-op board spokesperson said the company is trading within the Corporations Act and doesn’t comment on commercially confidential information.

In early October, the Co-op lost the rights to use the Australian Geographic brand, and announced 64 former Australian Geographic stores were set to trade under the new name My Geographic. SMH now reports that the Co-op lost the rights after it was late paying its fees to use the brand.

Following a legal dispute brought by Blue Ant Media, which holds the rights to the Australian Geographic name, the Co-op re-branded the stores to Curious Planet.

 

Category: Local news