Say hello to ‘remainder’ book industry.
Imagine a publisher prints a thousand books and sells about 70-80%. Sponsors like Big Bad Wolf pick up the remaining stock in volumes at a negotiated price.
For the publisher, the benefits are twofold: they clear excess stock and at the same time save the warehousing costs. Every minute the book is sitting at the publisher’s facility, it’s costing them money.
For the sponsors like BBW, the low-price model attracts a bigger audience (sometimes on a global scale). The increase in market reach more than makes up for the thin margins, which explains exactly how they stay afloat and even make profits!
But there’s a catch.
Most of the books at Big Bad Wolf are released more than six months ago. Also understandably, they’re not the best performers on the shelves. After all, we see no reason why a best-seller wouldn’t want to carry excess stock.
A name compelling to everyone.
Have you ever wondered why it’s called Big Bad Wolf and not a better-sounding positively-associated hero or for that matter, a more conventional title such as ‘Book Sale’? Think about it for a moment.
It’s fascinating how our brains are wired to focus on problems. A loud siren in a flood of traffic, a fight breakout in a crowded bar and a name of the villain we are familiar since our childhood all catch our attention in an instant. If the children are compelled to come to the show, it will also trigger their parents in the process. The founders of BBW are smart enough to understand this fundamental human psychology and we should too.