Japanese Publishers Running Scared Of Amazon

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

...self serve checkouts without the need for a checkout chick at all...

Thank God for Japan, then, because who else would wear the uggies?

[gaijinpunch]

You are taking the piss, right?
I'm Australian and Japan's lag in technological progress in the service sector(outside of mobile phones) makes Australia appear as technologically advanced as I had imagined Japan would be

Look at Japanese-designed webpages. Fuck that, just look at Rakuten.

[cstaylor]

CSTaylor - huge business opportunity for your POS smarts dude.

Unfortunately, it's not a technology problem. Believe me, I've tried that market, and those smart register systems already exist... but the small shops can't afford them.

We've had more luck with niche players like high-end sushi restaurants or resort spas, but at those service-oriented places you'd never see our stuff in action.

[Mike Oxlong]

My biggest issue at the moment is the lack of EFT-POS... it just makes so much sense and it is so easy in Aus.

I was blown away by the technology at the local supermarket in Australia recently. Barcodes scanners that gave the checkout operators a photo of the item. Also, self serve checkouts without the need for a checkout chick at all. All DIY and done by weight so there was no pilfering by those dodgy Australians.

Use the self checkout lane in Jusco down south here all the time. Sounds like the same setup you saw in Aus.

[Yokohammer]

Use the self checkout lane in Jusco down south here all the time. Sounds like the same setup you saw in Aus.

Some of the supers up here have that too.

Maybe it's just Tokyo that's still in the dark ages ...

[matsuki]

[quote="Yokohammer"]Some of the supers up here have that too.

Maybe it's just Tokyo that's still in the dark ages ... ]

I think you're right...I've seen that stuff in Aichi and Saitama before but all the places I use in Tokyo are cash only, wait in a mile long line, and then the one I use the most often charges per bag (along with making you bag it yourself....which makes the regi person pretty damn useless)

[Coligny]

Use the self checkout lane in Jusco down south here all the time. Sounds like the same setup you saw in Aus.

They even have an english language option... But Jusco had to change their POS not long ago because they were massively using Windows 2000 based software... which was a desperately stupid move if you consider the lifespan of a POS compared to the supported life of the software by MSFT... But I'm pretty sure that at the time some genius lined his pocket with a great powerpoint about the lower cost of of-the-shelf software versus... anything else that would make sense...

[Mike Oxlong]

Japanese publishers blast new Amazon book sale rules

A group of Japanese publishers has lashed out at Amazon’s new book sale rules, after U.S. and European authors accused the online retailer of using strong-arm negotiating tactics.

Several Tokyo-based publishers said Amazon recently unveiled a four-point system that rates them based on the size of the commission they pay for selling books on the U.S. company’s vast website, among other criteria.

Amazon then pushes hardest to promote books from publishers who agreed to the most favorable contract terms, which directly impacts how a book sells, they said, confirming a report by the Asahi Shimbun last week.

“Many publishers are in talks with Amazon to renew their two-year contracts, but this time they’re facing heavy demands from the company, which has grown rapidly here,” one publishing source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“Some smaller publishers are facing demands to accept a surge in commission fees… or see their contract terminated.

“If this kind of practice continues, small Japanese publishers who have created a diverse publishing culture here will be forced to go bankrupt,” he said.

Amazon was abusing its increasingly dominant position in Japan’s books market, the publishers alleged.

“We’re not sure if linking promotion and commission fees to book circulation… is a fair business practice,” another source said.

In response, Amazon’s Japanese unit described the matter as a private one between the company and publishers.

“We decline to comment on this issue as it is linked to contracts,” it said.

The criticism comes after a German minister last week threw her weight behind authors battling Amazon over claims it was employing heavy-handed tactics with publishers.

German-language authors have accused Amazon of delaying the release of books and boycotting authors signed to publishing houses in dispute with the U.S. company.

American writers have also protested over Amazon’s dispute with publishing conglomerate Hachette which represents authors including JK Rowling, Malcolm Gladwell and James Patterson, accusing the company of “taking writers hostage” in its e-books pricing battle.

In France, a new law aimed at supporting small bookshops bans online giants such as Amazon from delivering books without charge, but it allows them to set discounts of up to five percent, the maximum allowed under existing French legislation.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/tech ... sale-rules

[matsuki]

“Many publishers are in talks with Amazon to renew their two-year contracts, but this time they’re facing heavy demands from the company, which has grown rapidly here,” one publishing source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“Some smaller publishers are facing demands to accept a surge in commission fees… or see their contract terminated.

“If this kind of practice continues, small Japanese publishers who have created a diverse publishing culture here will be forced to go bankrupt,” he said.

Amazon was abusing its increasingly dominant position in Japan’s books market, the publishers alleged.

“We’re not sure if linking promotion and commission fees to book circulation… is a fair business practice,” another source said.

Isn't this like a page out of the behind the scenes Japanese business practices cookbook?

[Hijinx]

“Many publishers are in talks with Amazon to renew their two-year contracts, but this time they’re facing heavy demands from the company, which has grown rapidly here,” one publishing source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“Some smaller publishers are facing demands to accept a surge in commission fees… or see their contract terminated.

“If this kind of practice continues, small Japanese publishers who have created a diverse publishing culture here will be forced to go bankrupt,” he said.

Amazon was abusing its increasingly dominant position in Japan’s books market, the publishers alleged.

“We’re not sure if linking promotion and commission fees to book circulation… is a fair business practice,” another source said.

Isn't this like a page out of the behind the scenes Japanese business practices cookbook?

+1

[matsuki]

...and since when does Japan have "smaller publishers" or "a diverse publishing culture?"

Though I thought the whole thing with Amazon was that writers were able to distribute their work to bazillions of people without the need of all the BS publishers demanded of them???

[inflames]

The entire thing about Amazon and publishers just shows how fucking dumb publishers are - it's like the music industry in the early 2000s. If it weren't for Steve Jobs the music industry would still be in a shitty situation.

Japanese publishers here are just being whiny.

[Yokohammer]

The entire thing about Amazon and publishers just shows how fucking dumb publishers are - it's like the music industry in the early 2000s. If it weren't for Steve Jobs the music industry would still be in a shitty situation.

The music industry is still in a shitty situation.

And getting shittier.