Membership warehouse chain Costco is axing most of its book sections, ending year-round sales of books at most of its over 600 U.S. locations starting in January.
The first rumblings of the move came last summer when the retailer told publishers that books would be stocked during only the holiday season from September to December starting in 2025, unnamed publishing executives told The New York Times.
Stores in some markets, like Alaska and Hawaii, had already stopped book sales.
Around 100 Costco stores will keep books out for sale all year, and publishers can put up promotional pallets of books for sale in the other stores, unnamed sources told industry publication Publishers Weekly last week.
The book sections were too labor-intensive to maintain all year at all of its stores, Costco told publishing executives.
As opposed to many of the other items sold individually or in bulk at Costco, books must be placed on tables and removed by hand, with unsold books cycled out and new releases dropping every Tuesday.
Costco sources told Publishers Weekly that book sections would need to become easier to maintain for the company to keep them around.
The unnamed sources also told Publishers Weekly that Costco leaders want to see how well the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” book, which went on sale Friday exclusively at Target, sells.
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