Feb 19, 2012
Feldheim Filing For Bankruptcy
Today is a dramatic, and historical, day in the frum book industry. According to Bechadrei, the Feldheim publishing house is declaring bankruptcy.
It must be added that the stores under the Feldheim name are owned by the Feldheim family but are a separate business, and would technically not be affected by the bankruptcy of the publishing house, though there are rumors that the stores might be sold to the Ohr HaChaim chain of bookstores..
If true, if Feldheim really does go out of business, the frum book and seforim market will dramatically change. Feldheim has been a leader in the industry for so long, it is hard to imagine what the industry will look like without them being part of it.
It must be added that the stores under the Feldheim name are owned by the Feldheim family but are a separate business, and would technically not be affected by the bankruptcy of the publishing house, though there are rumors that the stores might be sold to the Ohr HaChaim chain of bookstores..If true, if Feldheim really does go out of business, the frum book and seforim market will dramatically change. Feldheim has been a leader in the industry for so long, it is hard to imagine what the industry will look like without them being part of it.
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it is hard to imagine what the industry will look like without them being part of it.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it look like ... Artscroll?
yes, we might actually have books whose bindings don't fall apart when you bring them home
ReplyDeleteIf you hadn't noticed, ArtScroll's main competition these days is Koren. Feldheim hasn't been a player for a long time.
ReplyDeleteTo ADDeRabbi:
ReplyDeletePerhaps you mean as far as the siddur and tanakh business, but as far as total number of titles and shelf space in frum book stores in the US, it's Feldheim and Artscroll, with everyone else sharing the (perhaps 20%)remaining market share.
I assume all this means is that Feldheim is reorganizing, not that they are going out of business.
I'm no expert, but I dont think Koren is a major player. they have a niche, but they arent publishing high volumes of seforim like Art Scroll and Feldheim.
ReplyDeleteAlso, perhaps Fekldheim hasnt been much of a player in the english market for a while (debatable), but they hold a serious position in the Hebrew market. probably greater than that of ArtScroll.
Except for your post and several back links to it from other blogs, I don't see anything on the internet (in English) about this. Is this Bechadrei's exclusive scoop?!
ReplyDeleteI looked around as well and the only source I could find was bechadrei. all other articles linked to bechadrei.
ReplyDeleteit has been partially confirmed to me (each one has a slight variation of "everything will soon be worked out") by friends of various members of the feldheim family.
I am the publicist for Feldheim. Here is an official statement from the US office. I can tell you that MUCH of what you are reading online is not accurate. Stuart Schnee
ReplyDelete"February 19, 2012
Official Statement from Feldheim Publishers, New York
The financial crisis you may have read about is in reference to Feldheim Publishers,
Jerusalem.
Our US operation, Philipp Feldheim, Inc. is an independent entity and we will B’Ezras
Hashem continue publishing and distributing books.
Yitzchak Feldheim
Philipp Feldheim, Inc."
thanks Stuart
ReplyDeleteStuart, your statement does not really touch on much of the subject at hand. Perhaps you can expand on the impact of the Israeli publishing on the American/English market. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteFeldheim should eliminate the English read once novels. Especially when they republish novels already printed in Binah or Mishpacha magazine.
ReplyDeleteIf they stick with the Hebrew Seforim or English Halachah books they might weather the storm somewhat. They have tough decisions ahead and have to carefully examine their staffing levels and keep only those vital to the company staying afloat.
There ARE other publishers of note. They may not put out as much as Artscroll or Feldheim but I don't think that "everyone else" is just 20% of the market. Namely, Hachai, Israel Book Shop, Judaica Press to name a few.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, do you still think that Koren is not a major player?
ReplyDelete