Learn how to validate your startup idea by pre-selling it, for only $80 (includes a free 1-hour consultancy call).

Avalon Books

Book publisher for romance and mystery novels
Amazon Cemetery

Don't be the average security professional that spends 4,300 hours annually to maintain compliance. Simplify your audits and reduce your workload with G2's 5-star rated compliance automation platform.

Get started →
GENERAL INFORMATION
Category:
Education
Started:
1950
BUSINESS FAILURE
Cause:
Acquisition Flu
Closed:
2012

Don't be the average security professional that spends 4,300 hours annually to maintain compliance. Simplify your audits and reduce your workload with G2's 5-star rated compliance automation platform.

Get started →

Description

Avalon Books was a family-owned book publishing imprint founded in the 1950s by Thomas Bouregy.

The company had been passed down through the generations and specialized in romance and mystery genres, including titles from popular authors such as Holly Jacobs, Carolyn Hughey, and Carolyn Brown.

In 2012, Avalon Books was bought by Amazon. The owner expressed that they were pleased to be working with Amazon publishing as it would help them in digitizing the books and retaining them for the future.

Cause of Failure

The acquisition of Avalon Books in 2012 gave Amazon rights for publishing 3000 books in the popular mystery, romance, and western genres. None of those books were available in digital formats at the time so it was a unique opportunity for Amazon to increase its selection for Kindle users. An Amazon spokesperson expressed excitement about having some of Avalon’s talented authors on board.

The acquisition was made at a time when Amazon was trying to become a key player in the book publishing business. By 2011, the e-commerce giant had launched its first imprint and ran eight different publishing lines. Acquiring traditional titles from such companies allowed Amazon to increase the number of original titles for its users.

The Avalon brand is no longer active.

References

The All-In-One Newsletter for Startup Founders

90% of startups fail. Learn how not to with our weekly guides and stories. Join +40,000 other startup founders!

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.