Ballantine Books, Inc.

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Ilt THE iatter BALLANTINE BOOKS, IXC.

CONSENT ORDER, ETC., IN REGARD TO THE ALLGED VIOLATION OF SEC. 2( d) OF THE CIJ YTON ACT Docket 0-161. Complaint, JUly 11, 19G2-Decision, July, 1962 Consent order requiring a ':Tew York City publisher of paperback books to cease discriminating in price in violation of Sec. 2(d) of the Clayton Act by paying promotional allowances to certain retail customers-some of whom opcrated chain retail outlets in railroad, airport, and bns terminals, and outlets in hotels and offce buildings, and others of whom furnished services in connection with the handling of respondent's publications such as taking purchase on1er8 and distributing, biling' , and collecting-while not making such payments available on proportionally equal terms to their competitor:, including drug chains. grocery chains, and other ne\ysstands. CO)'IPLAI The Federal Trade Commission, having reason to believe that the party respondent named in the cn,ption hereof an(l hereinafter more particularly designated and described, has viohtecl and is now violating the provisions of subsection (d) of Section 2 of the Clayton Act (V. C. Title 15, Sec. 13), as amended hy the I,obinson-Patman Act hereby issues its complaint stating its charges with respect thereto as follows:

P ARAGRAPTI 1. Respondent Bal1antinc Books, Inc., is a corporation organized and doing business under thc laws of the State of :New York with its offce and principal place of business located at 101 Fifth Avenue, New York, K.Y. Said respondent, among other things has been engaged and is presently engaged in the business of publishing and distributing various publications including paperback books under copyrighted titles. Respondent's sales of puhlications avcrage four hundred fifty thousand copies per month. PAR. 2. Publications published by respondent are distributed by said respondent to customers through its national distributor, Kable News Company, hereinafter referred to as Kable. ICa-ble has acted and is now acting as national distributor for the publications of several independent publishers including said respondent. Kable, as a national distributor of publications published by said respondent and other independent publishers, has performed and is now performing various services for these publishers. Among the services performed and stiJ! being pcrformcd by Kable for the benefit of these publishers are the taking of purchase orders and the distributing, billing and collecting for such publications from customers. . _ ..

FEDERAL TRADE CO:\L\HSSION DECISIONS Complaint 61 F.

Kable has also negotiated promotional arrangements with the retail customers of the publishers it represents, on bahaH of and with the knowledge a.nd approval of said publishers, including respondent. In its capacity as national distributor for said respondent, in dealing 'with the customers of said respondent: I\:able served and is no\\ serving as a conduit or intermedia.ry for the sale, distribution and promotion of publications published by said respondent. PAR. 3. Hespondcllt BalJantinc Books, Inc., through its conduit or intermediary, K lble, JUtS 50111 and disll'ilmtec1 and now sells !lllll distributes its publications in sllbsLnut.al qUflntities in cormnerce, as c0l1merce" is defined in the. Clayton Act, as amended, to competing customers located throughout Yflrio\1s States of the 17united States and in the District of Columbia.

\.n. 4. In the course nnd conlluct of its business in commerce, respondent Ballentine Books, Inc. hils paid or contracied for the payment of smIlething of value to OJ' for the benefit of some of its customers as compensation or in consideration for selTices or facilities furnished, 01' contracted to be furnished by or through such customers in connect.ion \with the handling, snJe, or offering for sale of publications sold to them by said respondent. Such payments 01' allmyances \Were not made available on propoJ'tionally equal terms to all other cust-orners of said respondent competing in the distribution of such publications.

m. 5. As an example of the practices alleged herein, respondent IbJb.ntine Books, Inc., has made payments or allo\ya.nces to certain retail customers who operate chain retail outlets in rai1roacl, airport and bus terminals, as ,,-ell r.s outlets located in hotels and offce buildings. Srtid respondent has also made payments or also\YD.nces to retail customers who operate drug chains and grocery chains. Su( h payments or allowances were not o:ferecl or other"ivise made available on proportionally equal terms to all other customers of respondent competing \\"ith the favored customers in the salc and distribution of publications of said respondent. -"...among the favored customers receiving pn,yments in 19GO, and during the first six months of 19C1, which \\8re not offered to other competing customers in connection with the purc.hase ancl sale of respondents publiciltions were: Approximate Amolln t Rccci';cd Customer: 1960 (Ja.n. June) Interstate Hosts, Los Allgeles, Calif- 8830. DO , 050. 00 Fred Harvcy. Chicago, 111-- 70S. 00 303. 00 Gre;vhound Post Houses, Forest Park, Ill_ 208. 00 D7. Drug Fall', Washington, D. , 0:-2. 00 JOG. 00 BALLANTll'\E, BOOKS , I Decision and DreIer Respondent made said payments to its favored customers on the basis of individual negotiations. Among said favored customers such payments ,were not made on proportionally equal terms. PAn. 6. The acts and practices of respondent as alleged above are in violation of the provisions of subsection (d) of Section 2 of the Clayton Act, as amended.

DECISJOX AXD Onder The Commission having heretofore determined to issue its complaint charging the respondent named in the caption hereof ,vjth violation of subsection (d) of Section 2 of the Clayton Act, as amended, and the respondent having been served with notice of sa.ic1 determination and with a copy of the complaint the Commission intended to issue together with a, proposed form of order; and The respondent a,nd counsel for the Commission having therea,after executed an agreement containing a consent order, an a.admission by the respondent oj all the jurisdictional facts set forth in the complaint to issue herein, a statement that the signing of said agreement :is for settlement purposes only and does not constit.ute an admission by respondent that the law has been violated as set forth in such complaint, and waivers and provisions as required by the Commission rnles; and The Commission, having considered tho agreement, hereby a(' cpts same, issues its complaint in the form contemplated by said agreement makes the following jurisdictional findings, and enters t.he following order:

1. Respondent, Ballantine Books, Inc., is a corporation organized existing and doing business under and by virtue of the la,vs of the St.ate of Kew York, ,,,ith its offce and pI'incipal place of business located at 101 Fifth Avenue, in the city of New York, State of New York.

2. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction of the subject matter of this proceeding alld of the respondent. ORDER I t is oTderecl That respondent, BalJantine Books, Inc., a. corporate.ion its offcers, elnpJoyees, agents and represenLntives, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the distribution, sale or offering for sale of publications including pape.rbook books in comme.rce, as "commerce" is defined in the amended Clayton Act, do forthwith cease and desist from:

, , ; FEDERAL TRADE C0l1MI881O"" DECISIONS Complaint 61 F.

Paying or contracting for the payment of an allowance or anything of value to, or for the benefit of, any customer as compensation or in consideration for any services or facilities furnished by or through such customer in connection with the hancling, oflering for sale, sale or distribution of publications including paperback books published, sold or offered for sale by respondent, unless such payment or consideration is affrmatively offered and otherwise made available on proportionally equal terms to aU of its other customers competing with sllch favored customer in the distribution of such publications including paperback books.

The word "customer" as used above shall be deemed to mean anyone who purchases from Ballantine Books, Inc., acting either as principal or agent, or from a distributor or wholesaler where such transaction with such purchaser is essentially a sale by such respondent, acting either as principrLl or agent.

I tis jUl'thel' o1'de1'ed That the respondent herein shall, within sixty (60) days after service upon it of this order, file with the Commission a report in writing setting forth jn detail the ma1l1er and form jn which it has complied with this order.