3.
in partnership with authors and with publishers, book distributers and booksellers in Hong Kong, has made a significant investment in the efficient and cost-effective distribution of books in Hong Kong, and entrusts a significant proportion of its printing work to printers in Hong Kong, to the great benefit of local industry.
10. Thus, on price, it is certainly the case that import prices will fluctuate with fluctuating exchange
exchange rates, so that when the pound is strong compared with the Hong Kong dollar, import prices will be higher, and vice versa. The same is true of the US dollar, So that there may be periods when books from either source are temporarily cheaper than from the other. But it will be noted that British publishers customarily adjust export/import prices to allow for such fluctuations, to maintain price stability, and often absorb exchange rate risks themselves. A historical survey of prices shows this stability. Thus, any temporary price advantage is quickly diminished, and to base supply arrangements on such temporary fluctuations would be highly disruptive.
11. Further, of course, it may occasionally be the case that copies of a particular title may be available more cheaply from an alternative source, where for example a title has been overproduced, failed. or been remaindered, or occasionally sold off in a low-priced job lot for a particular purpose, e.g. a book club or discount offer. But, again, to base permanent supply arrangements on such transient and specific advantages would be highly disruptive. to the general availability of a wide range of titles at economic prices.
12.
On dates of availability, it is of course the case that, where a US-originated title has been licensed to a British publisher for sale in the UK, the Commonwealth and Hong Kong, the UK edition will be available after the US edition, because of time taken to negotiate rights, supply manuscript etc. (It should be noted that, because of the extent of British investment in Commonwealth markets, US publishers seldom obtain Commonwealth rights to UK titles, so that the opposite situation does not apply). But the supply of different titles is not time-sensitive in the eyes of most consumers, and the international licensing arrangements result in much better availability, at lower prices, of a wider range of titles than occurs when local law encourages spasmodic availability of a limited number of titles through parallel importation.
13.
The
This is indeed the advantage of
of book
book supply from British publishers worked in partnership with local distributors. objective of British publishing is to offer consumers around the world ready availability of a wide range of titles at fair prices through exclusive local stockholding arrangements. To disrupt these through parallel importation
importation would give the consumer some minor transient advantages quickly diminished by the loss of widespread availability: a poor deal for the consumer, whose main need is to have available a wide range of titles for his or her wide-ranging needs.
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