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Manchester United Football Club fans are the most geographically disparate group in the UK, with fans, perhaps attracted to the club by its Premiership success, purchasing the annual from all over the country, an analysis of Nielsen BookScan data reveals.
In total, the latest edition of the The Official Manchester United FC Annual has sold 32,000 copies, but a whopping 82% of its sales have occurred outside the geographical BookScan region in which the club is based (Lancashire)—the highest ratio of all the football annuals published by Grange Communications last year.
According to BookScan, The Official Manchester United FC Annual is the bestselling football annual in the regions of: Northern Scotland, Borders, Northern Ireland, Lancashire, Yorkshire, East of England, Midlands, Wales and the West, Southern and South West.
The only three geographical regions in which it is not the bestseller are: Central Scotland (where The Official Rangers Annual is the bestseller), London (Arsenal) and the North East (Newcastle).
Liverpool FC fans are similarly widespread, with 81% of its 23,000 sales occurring outside its Lancashire region. Nottingham Forest, Hibernian, West Bromwich Albion, and Heart of Midlothian fans are the most truly local fans in the UK, with more than 90% of the sales of the football teams' annuals occurring in the region in which they are based.
Interestingly, one copy of the Queens Park Rangers FC Annual (about the team based in west London) has been sold in Northern Scotland according to BookScan. Presumably to one Queen's Park FC (based in Glasgow) supporter who got his wires crossed.
Football Annuals: Proportion of Sales Outside Geographical Region of the Club:
1) Manchester 82%
2) Liverpool 81%
3) Chelsea 64%
4) Arsenal 57%
5) Manchester City 50%
6) Tottenham Hotspur 49%
7) Everton 39%
8) West Ham 37%
9) Celtic 37%
10) Rangers 30%
11) Wolves 21%
12) QPR 20%
13) Newcastle 19%
14) Aston Villa 16%
15) Hearts 10%
16) West Brom 7%
17) Hibs 7%
18) Nottingham Forest 7%