SMH article
Quote:
Mr Grover said digital books, which account for 1 per cent of Australian book sales, are not the problem but internet booksellers are a serious challenge to all bookshops.
''One thing that contributed [to the REDgroup failure] is a significant lack of competition at a wholesale level in Australia,'' he said. ''I will be calling on the government to take immediate action. We need to see reform and the removal of parallel importation restrictions.''
Mr Grover led a campaign two years ago to allow booksellers to import books directly from overseas rather than depend on local publishers. The argument that this would result in cheaper books for consumers was upheld by the Productivity Commission, which recommended opening the market. But the government rejected the advice under pressure from local publishers who feared income and job losses.
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Don Grover is CEO of Dymocks