Dive Brief:
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For the first time, Amazon Tuesday released an admission that it is indeed holding back on selling titles from Hachette Book Group and defended its negotiating strategy with the publisher, which owns Grand Central Publishing, Orbit, and Little, Brown, among other imprints.
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The e-commerce giant suggested to customers that it find the books elsewhere.
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The retailer has been suffering a public relations debacle over what many are calling hardball tactics, which are making high-profile books like J.K. Rowling’s upcoming novel unavailable.
Dive Insight:
That Amazon is suggesting to customers that they find books published by Hatchette Book Group from competitors like Barnes & Noble is remarkable and a sign of how far the retailer is willing to go in this dispute.
The e-retail giant even posted in its defense a link to a single blog post that takes issue with most coverage on the web that has put the retailer in a mostly negative light regarding this dispute.