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After years of being dictated to by car companies, frustrated buyers are forcing the auto industry to reinvent the way its vehicles are designed and sold. In hiring marketing whiz [...]

Management has no end of excuses for the death of Consumers Distributing. But if management wants to find the real culprit, maybe it should look in the mirror. When consumers [...]

Sympatico, Bell Canada's new Internet strategy, seems to be part service provider, part content provider and part cookies and milk. In the fast-paced world of the Internet, can even Bell [...]

Gabe Tsampalieros knows the food business from the kitchen floor up. Is that enough to lead the genteel Cara Foods (Harvey's and Swiss Chalet) against a ravenous swarm of Arch [...]

On the strength of his Exceed software package, Fred Sorkin flew Hummingbird Communications straight in the volatile Internet business. Now the brash Soviet emigre is betting that the 'intranet' market [...]

When tough US competitors moved north, it seemed inevitable that Canadian Tire would be flattened. But then a smart new CEO took over, and the confused retailer got a grip. [...]

Junk food and junk real estate--what a combination. For doughnut-store franchisors, it's paying off big: the industry thrives during hard times. The question is: can it survive a recovery? STANDING [...]

As a high-tech entrepreneur, John McLennan spent most of his career battling Bell. My, how times have changed. Now he's running the phone company--and busily drilling his troops to quell [...]

From cold calls to client presentations, computers are making sales much easier--and more profitable. MICHAEL SHEAHAN PRESSES large hands together and begins by reciting his profession's article of faith: 'There [...]

THE SHAREHOLDERS OF NORTHern Telecom Ltd. are not accustomed to hearing bad news at their annual meetings. And when they gathered one day last April in an opulent meeting room [...]

With memberships shrinking and more layoffs being announced daily, the labor movement needs every friend it can get. Now some trade unions are forming powerful new alliances - with management. [...]

ASK BILL GORDICA about finding profitable business opportunities in Russia these days and he's going to talk about adversity--but the kind that works for him. In May, 1992, after two [...]

Groupware dissolves the barriers that separate departments and companies. These powerful programs are reshaping organizations--and redefining how people work together. LAST FALL, GSA Consulting Group Inc., a Toronto management consulting [...]

They dazzle--but do they do the job? If you believe the hype, new technology has already made last year's hot gadgets into doorsteps. Here's how to separate the keepers from [...]

That chilly December morning in Temagami began like any other. The Northern Ontario town, a sprawl of buildings between two curves on Highway 11, was stiffing by 7:30 a.m. Already, [...]

Why the banks object to a tighter loans policy Business Boondoggle: Putting the brakes on the banks' lending spree Bethune-doggle: A Communist hero, now a capitalist trademark. And much more [...]

The article profiles the journalist Jane Jacobs. Topics include her affiliation with the editors Jason Epstein and David Ebershoff of the publishing company Random House, an exhibition of photographs and a series of walking tours called "Jane's Walk" which was dedicated to her in Toronto, and the publication of her several writings which aim to showcase her ideas.

Focuses on the state of school libraries in Canada. Reduction of available funds; Shortage of library staff; Importance of libraries in the education system.

Reports the impact of the merger between SmithBooks and Coles on the book industry in Canada. Formation of Chapters Inc.; Opportunities for the book market to succeed; Influence of the Internet in the selling of books.

Reports on the island travel of several Chapter managers of Canadian Booksellers Association in Paradise Island, Caribbean Area. Growth of Chapter's net income ;Sponsorship of the trip by chief executive officer Larry Stevenson of the Association; Continuance of superstore expansion program. INSET: Who's the boss?.

Reports on the merger between Random House of Canada and Bantam Doubleday Dell in Canada. Company executives; Retention of several editorial staff; Advantages and disadvantages of the merger. INSET: A question of share.

Focuses on the success achieved by Canadian children's book publishing venture Kids Can Press in transforming Franklin, a Paulette Bourgeois-created children's book character into a lucrative license property. Company history; Factors responsible for the popularity of the Franklin series; Spinoff of the Franklin character into CD-ROM titles, toys and a television series; Company's expansion into the U.S. market.

Focuses on the launch of a home-learning supplementary educational product for children known as 'Brighter Vision's Learning Adventures,' by the genre mass publisher Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. Features of the product; Details on how the product was developed; Distribution channels for the product; Overview of the Canadian market for supplementary educational products.

Reports on the five-year expansion plan of a Canada-based Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc.'s vice-president and publisher Don Sedgwick to increase the sales of the company. Background of the publishing house; Overview of the plan; Percentage of increase in sales following the execution of the plan.

Reports the problems faced by university and college students on the purchasing of textbooks. Failure to buy a textbook while in high school; Increase in the prices of accounting text; Early retirement of instructors and professors.

The article focuses on Roanie Levy, executive director of Canada's not-for-profit copyright collective organization Access Copyright. It notes that the group's annual revenue for 2013 has dropped to $18 million from 30 million annual range as a result of the withdrawal of the country's K-12 education sector and provincial education ministries stopped to pay. Levy states the digital age of legal environment creates a completely untenable situation for the rights of holders.

The article presents information on the success story of Canadian tech start-up Wattpad, the rapidly growing online network for writers and readers. Wattpad, founded by Allen Lu and Ivan Yuen, gets 9 million unique visitors every month, and financed by web advertising and venture capitalists. The site not only offer online content, but also open for comments and feedbacks from its users.

The article presents a corporate profile of Canada-based publisher Dundurn Group. It mentions that the group has a joint venture with the Ontario Genealogical Society. It notes that its founder Kirk Howard founded the organization in 1972 as a small press with a mandate to specialize in Canadian topics. It mentions that it has also published debut novels from the likes of poet Tom Wayman , Hassan Ghedi Santur, and Jules Lewis since fall 2009.

The article profiles author Shane Peacock. It offers information on the works of Peacock where he received awards and nominations for his writing including "Eye of the Crow," "Death in the Air," and "The Vanishing Girl." It discusses the version of Peacock's 19th-century Canadian tightrope walker known as the Great Farini, whose biography he wrote in 1995 and the first in his series of YA mysteries featuring a 13-year-old Sherlock Holmes.

The article presents information on the significance of money in academic publishing. Scholarly publishing is not a profitable undertaking. A range of tactics must be used by university presses to get books out the door. Editorial directors are now left with no choices, but to take a more creative approach to funding each project.

In the world of digital information, Toronto Public Library employee Charmaine Lindsay and publishing company McGraw-Hill Ryerson (MHR) higher education group President Petra Cooper are both devising innovative ways of providing educational resources online, but find themselves on opposite sides of a gaping divide over digital copyright. When McGraw-Hill in the U.S. sells a package of digital learning materials to an educational institution, it makes the package available to a number of users at the institution from its own secure web site. In Canada, by contrast, MHR staff have to take the software and physically load it up on the school's server, then provide passwords for the designated users a much more restrictive approach that affords little flexibility and privacy to the users. This type of deal is far less efficient, says Cooper, but it's made necessary by Canada's existing copyright rules. The intensely complex puzzle is of determining how to address these practical issues legally, and in a way that preserves the elusive balance between the rights of copyright owners and those of users, who face the prospect of having to pay millions in new licensing fees for digital material.

Features Canada-based publisher Fitzhenry & Whiteside. Acquisition of the Stoddard Kids program; Ongoing repositioning of the company; Distribution operation.

Features Canadian publisher McCleland & Stewart. Increased support for new writers; Random House influence; Challenge to the economics of Canadian publishing; Corporate changes; Complex ownership arrangement.

Reports the provision of financial assistance by the federal government to the book industry in Canada. Factors contributing to the instability of the industry; Efforts to address the industry's problems with information technology and structural changes; Response of the Dept. of Canadian Heritage to the financial problems of the industry.

Focuses on the career of Bruno Monti as vice-president of procurement for bookstore chain Chapters/Indigo in Canada. Expression of trust by publishers; Aim of stabilizing company operations; Decrease in the number of book titles carried by the company.

Focuses on the success of the marketing of 'Harry Potter' books in December 1999 in Canada. Number of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter serial; Increase of price sensitivity; Sale of gift certificates; Indication of dominant book trends.

Reports on the joint venture between Penguin Canada company and Bejo Sales. Company background of Penguin; Revenue of Bejo Sales; Plans of the merged companies.

Focuses on the different roles and responsibilities of sales representatives in business enterprises in the U.S. Establishment of strong professional relationship with employees; Accounts on the experiences of sales representatives in taking business trips; Measures taken by sales representatives to improve sales rate. INSET: PLUGGING IN.

Focuses on the competition among booksellers with Chapters Inc. in the U.S. Provision of customer loyalty program from McNally Robinson Booksellers Limited; Accessibility of store chains owned by Chapters; Release of market survey on superstore trend.

Forecasts the revenues on the joint Web site between Chapters and Globe & Mail. Issuance of retailer press release predicting the company online venture; Generation of cash flow by selling advertising on the site; Terms of the online venture of the company.

Reports on the online retail business of Canadian bookstores. Competition for Amazon from other retailers in online business; Dynamism in online retail environment; Need for the retailers to be connected to a real bookstore for marketing and finance.

Focuses on book publishers in Ontario. Expiry of the loan guarantees of the publishers; Effect of expiry of loan guarantees on the publishing business; Names of publishing firms that have closed down due to expired loan guarantees. INSET: Now! out, Indigo! in.

Reports the impact of downturn in the computer industry on the distribution center Canbook. Reduction of customers trust; Decline of imprints sales volume; Delay of shipments.

Profiles Heather Reisman, former Cott Corp. food industry executive in Canada. Comments of Reisman on book retailing; Opportunities for large-format bookstores; Lack of book retailing experience in the managers of Chapters and Now Books and Music.

Reports on developments related to the books and publishing industry of Canada as of September 1996. Plans of Virgin Retail, the entertainment products chain to open a store in downtown Vancouver, Canada; Degradation in the activity of Word on the Street due to lack of fundraising; Ban on the racist novel 'The Turner Diaries;' Aids to various public libraries to improve their computer facilities.

The article offers information regarding various controversial books and the Toronto District School Board's (TDSB) plan to overhaul its own approach to dealing with challenges to its library resources. Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass" and Deborah Ellis' "Three Wishes," are said to be two such books. It also refers to TDSB's member Tim Gauntley comments on its new policies.

The article reports on how new improvements in library design are connecting urban communities. When the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Quèbec decided to launch an international design competition for a grand new central library in a gritty part of downtown Montreal, the institution came up with a wish list of components. That list included all the expected design features, as well as several others that addressed the project's expected urban role. While library commissions are much sought-after by architects, designers know such projects present a range of daunting structural and organizational challenges. Books are not just light-sensitive, they are also heavy, meaning the building must be able to support the load.

The article presents the author's opinions regarding the use of levelled books as a tool for motivating young children to methodically build reading skills and self-confidence. Levelled books, or supplementary readers written specifically to correspond to an escalating set of language skills, elicit highly polarized reactions from teachers, education experts, publishers, and parents. The popularity of levelled books is clearly evident in classrooms and school libraries. Many teachers now set out baskets of levelled readers, one for each level.

The article reports on copyrights related to the publishing of books. In the early 1980s, it took Pierre Trudeau two determined years to repatriate the Canadian constitution and negotiate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A generation later, it has taken the federal government more than twice as long to bring Canada's copyright laws into the digital age, and the job still isn't anywhere close to completion. Part of the problem is that copyright reform couldn't be a less sexy political issue, and thus languishes at the bottom of the government's legislative agenda. As a branch of intellectual property law, copyright regulation is supposed to deal with issues such as tariffs, authors' rights, term of copyright, and so on--all legal concepts that address themselves to the economic value and cultural integrity of the work itself.

The arrival of retailer Sam's Club in Ontario this fall has some publishers questioning an unprecedented merchandising arrangement between the retail store Wal-Mart subsidiary and Vancouver, British Columbia's books retailer BookExpress. Under the terms of the three-year deal, Canadian book publisher Raincoast Books' wholesale division will not only provide fulfillment for the new stores, but its buyers will also be selecting titles for Sam's Club. Executives and buyers from Sam's Club and Book Express did the rounds during BookExpo Canada in June 2003, introducing selected publishers to Sam's Club officials and talking up the logistics of the rollout. Another aspect of the Sam's Club roll-out that has ignited publisher concern is that the designated buyer for the Canadian operation, Vanessa Sankar, has no previous book-buying experience, thus necessitating the expanded relationship with Book Express.