Entrepreneurs at Vinhan Bookstore in Ruovesi protest exclusive sales of Hotakainen’s new novel

Entrepreneurs at Vinhan Bookstore in Ruovesi, Pirkanmaa, have expressed frustration over the exclusive sales arrangement for author Kari Hotakainen’s new novel. The central grocery chain Kesko announced that Hotakainen’s latest book, “Helmi,” was released on Wednesday solely in K-group grocery stores across Finland. This marks the first publication under the Pirkka brand.

In protest, Vinhan Bookstore has decided to temporarily remove Hotakainen’s previous titles from its inventory. The bookstore’s statement described the decision as a defiant gesture to highlight the challenges facing print bookstores in a declining market.

Bookseller Pasi Vainio stated in a phone interview that the store hopes to spark a dialogue regarding the reasoning behind the decision made by publishing house Siltala and Hotakainen. He criticized the justifications presented as “at least weak” when discussing encouragement for reading and the position of small retailers, given that it involves a grocery chain and its private label brand, which restricts competition through exclusivity.

Vinhan Bookstore aims to offer a broad selection of authors’ works while also hosting various events. Vainio noted that if they wanted to invite Hotakainen to speak, they would have to redirect customers to the K-store in Ruovesi.

Hotakainen himself, in a comment from Kesko, mentioned that publishing under a grocery store brand felt natural to him, coming from a background of small business ownership. Siltala’s CEO, Arto Forstén, emphasized the aim of encouraging reading and pointed out that the arrangement with K-group is significant for their publishing house. The initial print run for Hotakainen’s new book is set at an unusually high 35,000 copies, signaling a notable distribution effort in Finland.