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Following a month of upheaval in the independent sector, publishers have told The Bookseller that they are focusing on marketing, cost control, export sales, new routes to market and diversification in order to survive.
The comments have come ahead of the Independent Publishers Guild’s annual conference this month, and in the wake of a tough run for several indies. Since the start of 2014, Atlantic">http://www.thebookseller.com/news/mirchandani-departs-atlantic-restructu... Books has restructured, Quercus">http://www.thebookseller.com/news/quercus-looks-buyer.html">Quercus has announced it is seeking a buyer, Saqi">http://www.thebookseller.com/news/saqi-seeks-new-investment.html">Saqi has said it needed investment, Anova">http://www.thebookseller.com/news/polly-powell-buys-out-anova.html">Anov... has refinanced, and Constable">http://www.thebookseller.com/news/little-brown-buys-constable-robinson.h... & Robinson, the UK’s oldest independent general trade publisher (est 1795), has been acquired by Little, Brown.
Publishers agreed that the market was tough and adapting was essential. Jamie Camplin, retiring m.d. of Thames & Hudson, said the challenge was how to get books to customers with a dominant Amazon and booksellers “wary of carrying huge inventories”. He added: “Publishers have to be more marketing-savvy than ever; it is not good having a brilliant editorial department producing great books if they’re not being marketed.”
Icon Books sales and marketing director Andrew Furlow said managing costs was important and “everything we do now is very much with our cashflow in mind”. Furlow also underscored the importance of selling Icon titles abroad. “Everything we do has got to have a good chance of selling thousands and thousands of copies internationally, with very clear sales targets for all of them.”
Usborne marketing and publicity manager Anna Howorth agreed, explaining that much of the children’s publisher’s success in 2013 “was down to further expansion into foreign markets. Usborne Verlag had its first full year of publishing, with a turnover of €2.5m and export sales in Brazil were up by 55%.”
John Styring, c.e.o. of Igloo Books, said the company was trying harder to tailor its publishing to customers’ shifting needs. He said: “It’s also about getting your shop in order and managing costs. We are trying other channels and selling through John Lewis, for example.”
Meanwhile, Accent Press has diversified its business model radically. “Our business is now 70% digital,” owner Hazel Cushion said. The publisher launched a subscription website for its erotica imprint Xcite Books today (14th February), alongside a magazine in Apple’s AppStore to seek out new readers. Accent has also stopped exhibiting at book fairs, apart from London Book Fair, to cut costs.
Many independents warned about the dangers of growing “too fast too soon”, and thought companies should have more focused lists. Alma Books m.d. Alessandro Gallenzi said: “Some indies in recent years have become obsessed with turnover and market share, trying to emulate the conglomerates, taking a ‘let’s see what sticks to the wall’ approach, over-buying and over-publishing. Our philosophy is not to try and out-Penguin Random House PRH, because they’re pretty good at what they do.”
Andrew Franklin, m.d. of Profile, agreed: “We’re confident about things at the moment; when one tree goes down in the forest, there is a bit more light for the others. Over-publishing is a problem for all, not just independents. If you publish more than you can market or sell you’re going to be in trouble. Finding the right balance between being overly ambitious and not ambitious enough is important.”
Bridget Shine, IPG c.e.o., said: “I think a lot of key things [for indies] are those of any business. It’s about good content, having good systems, managing your cashflow, running your business efficiently and effectively, having good routes to market and understanding your customer.”
http://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/legacybookseller/stephe... style="width: 192px; height: 181px; float: left; margin: 5px;" title="" />Focused lists are indies' strength
While a few high-profile independent publishers have struggled in recent months, Nielsen BookScan figures show that leading indies are, in fact, beating the overall market.
In 2013, the top 30 independent publishers through BookScan by value—from Usborne (£18.3m) to Kogan Page (£1.2m)—and the eight companies in the Faber-led Independent Alliance (IA) sold £166.6m through Nielsen. That is a contraction in sales on 2012 (-3.9%), but one that comprehensively beats the overall market decline of 6.5%.
Additionally, the top 30 and the IA accounted for 11.8% of all sales through UK bookshops last year, the collective group’s highest ever market share through BookScan.
There is a solid argument that specialisation is a recipe for indie publisher success. Excluding the IA, of the top 30 indies last year, only three could be termed general adult fiction publishers. Three are exclusively children’s publishers but most are non-fiction, some with very niche subjects, such as military (Osprey), Scottish interest (Birlinn), local history (The History Press), craft (Search Press), or test preparation (CGP).
Yet there is a complicated formula to running a publishing business, with domestic sales through the tills just a part. The Bookseller looked at the most recent annual reports from 18 leading indies, which give a fuller picture of the pressures on smaller publishers. Five of those publishers posted a decline in year-on-year revenue, and three posted losses.
An indicative example of indie publishers’ diversification and reliance on more that the UK business is Walker Books. In its most recent accounts (to 31st December 2012), just £11.9m of its £50.9m turnover was generated from UK sales, with international sales rising 3.2% year on year.
Stephen Page [pictured], Faber c.e.o., said: “I think things are going strongly for independent publishers. If you look at the results of the big publishers, it is a mixed picture as well. The game of publishing has changed—all publishers have to make a move and change direction; some will be successful and some will struggle. The Independent Alliance has changed, but if anything, I think it is growing stronger. “