Dargaud Switzerland, as a distributor, is lowering the recommended retail prices of its books by 6.5%, which serve as the basis for negotiating the purchase price with the bookseller.
The new pricing policy should be applied from November, said Tuesday the company of Moudon, in the canton of Vaud, which belongs to the Franco-Belgian media group Média-Participations.
New recommended prices
This measure is justified by the fact that the Swiss book market is an import market and that the vast majority of the publishing house’s books come from France. Dargaud therefore takes into account the fall in the euro against the Swiss franc.
Dargaud Suisse cannot enforce this recommended price and does not implement any means of pressure in this regard, said Simon Kummer, Deputy Managing Director of Dargaud Suisse at Keystone-ATS. “The bookseller is free to set the final sale price.”
Tense context
This announcement comes in a tense context on the price of the book. Pascal Vandenberghe, the director of Payot, filed a complaint at the end of September with the Competition Commission against a group which notably includes Gallimard and Flammarion. Cause of the dispute: an increase in the price of books imposed on Swiss booksellers. Pascal Vandenberghe relies in his approach on the new Swiss legislation of the law on cartels, in force since January.
>> Read also: The director of Payot files a complaint for an increase in the price of books
Regularly adjusted prices
Payot’s approach did not play a role at Dargaud, according to Simon Kummer’s declarations: “No, it is a reflection that we are constantly carrying out. Depending on the evolution of the exchange rate, we have already by the passed regularly adapted our recommended retail prices. In 15 years, our recommended retail prices have fallen by more than 25%.”
Founded in 1978 in Mont-sur-Lausanne and established in Moudon since 2011, Dargaud Switzerland specializes in the distribution of books, particularly in the fields of comics, manga and fantasy literature.
ats/miro