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In appropriate cloak and dagger fashion, New Zealand booksellers are being secretive today about how successful the release of the seventh and final instalment of the Harry Potter series was at the weekend.
After weeks of hype ahead of the global release of J K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Saturday morning, retailers were clearly happy with weekend sales but were coy today about the details.
The Warehouse spokeswoman Cynthia Church said the chain sold 20 per cent more copies of the final instalment than of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
"That shows that the Harry Potter excitement has not died down," she said.
Ms Church would not give specific sales figures but said some stores had sold out quickly.
The Warehouse discounted the book, selling it for $29.99, $3 cheaper than most other retailers.
Paper Plus, with 177 shops around the country, many in smaller centres, reported that it had sold over half of its "huge" stock at the weekend.
"It's the biggest selling new release we've had in the company's history," said group marketing manager Lyle Hastings.
Sales at Whitcoulls topped the Half-Blood Prince by 40 per cent, said book promotions manager Margie Thomson.
"It was the best-selling title of the seven."
Ms Thomson said the 65-store chain had sold out of the adult edition.
"It really reflects the changing age of the Harry Potter fans."
Many of the children who grew up with Harry were now in their late teens, and parents had become interested in the series along with their children, she said.
"In our Queen St store, most of the people queuing were 20 and up."
Whitcoulls also retailed the book for $32.99 -- a price which Ms Thomson said the company would make money on, but she questioned whether the Warehouse would profit from its discounted price.
The retail price recommended by the publisher was $55.
"It's a bit of a hot issue with booksellers because no one is going to be selling Harry Potter at $55 -- you just couldn't," Ms Thomson said.
"The publisher doesn't suffer when booksellers cut the price back. It is the booksellers that take that hit."
A Dymocks spokeswoman said she believed this instalment had sold better than the last one, but could not give figures.
Borders in New Zealand was unable to be contacted, but the international Borders Group Inc reported that the book sold 1.2 million copies worldwide in its first day, the biggest single-day number ever for the superstore chain.
The final volume of the all-conquering fantasy series sold a mountainous 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale in the United States, according to Scholastic.
The book's New Zealand publisher, Allen and Unwin, said it was too early to give sales figures but publicity director Andrew Hawkins said the book had sold "exceedingly well".
Half-Blood Prince sold over a million copies in Australia and New Zealand, and Deathly Hallows was going to be "bigger", he said.
The book's British publisher, Bloomsbury, expects to announce sales figures later today.
A spokeswoman was quoted yesterday as saying British sales could reach three million copies in the first 24 hours, up from two million with Half-Blood Prince.
Retailers there reported phenomenal early sales.
Deathly Hallows averaged more than 300,000 copies in sales per hour globally -- more than 5000 a minute. It generated more than US$250 million ($317.3 million) of revenue, more than triple the opening weekend take for the latest Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which came out July 10.
Seven of the top bestsellers on Amazon were Potter-related on Sunday, including the audio CD of Deathly Hallows and a box set of all seven Harry Potter films coming out in September.
Early reviews of Deathly Hallows have been glowing, and die-hard Potter followers can take comfort from the fact that Harry Potter has not gone away just yet. There are two Hollywood adaptations to go, with the final movie scheduled for release in 2010.
- NZPA
