(Yes, The Guardian does still have subs and yes, they write headlines and intro straps.)
Black Lace had a reputation for producing edgy, well-written erotica for women. The demand is there, so why is it closing?
It\’s closing because sales are falling: proof perfect that the demand isn\’t in fact there.
While nobody’s been particularly forthcoming with the figures, the quotes (both corporate and external) make it sounds more like it’s closing because puritanical Yanks bought the parent company off Richard Branson, want to dump the potential for embarrassment, and the line isn’t so profitable that shareholders would flay them alive for doing so.
Tim adds: Bertelsman are puritanical yanks now?
I’m a bit surprised – I have a female friend who writes for them, under a pseudonym. I’d got the impression it was a successful business. Maybe libidos shrink in economic downturns? More research needed…
Bertelsman’s English-language publishing business is run out of the US, and has been for at least 20 years.
Well, the demand may be there (women want high class literary parn) but not at the price Black Lace charges. If they lowered the price of their books, maybe sales would increase.
Of course that would erode profitability, perhaps to zero.
If Black Lace is a successful business being closed for non-economic reasons then a market opportunity present itself. If no-one comes forward to exploit this opportunity then it’s fair to assume that Black Lace is indeed a crock which its owners quite sensibly no longer care to subsidise.