Denet

What prompted the demise of the agreement was the action of a number of publishers who 'denetted' the price of their books.

Recent changes in the retail situation now allow denetting of a book six months after publication rather than after a year.

Yet the NBA is still in place, the PA has moved to prevent publishers from supplying BCA's club shops, and the threat from groups such as Costco has diminished. Even Hodder Headline's denetting initiative has not led to the kind of price war among booksellers that many feared.

In September the Publishers Association announced that it would defend the NBA and the following day Tim Helly Hutchinson — then CEO (chief executive officer) of Hodder Headline — announced that he was going to de-net their books on the day after Christmas.