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Children's publishing emerged relatively unscathed from a recessionary 2011, with 13 of the top 20 companies seeing growth—including Penguin Group, Usborne, Scholastic, Bonnier and Igloo Books.
According to Nielsen BookScan, the children's sector was slightly down overall (–0.7%) with total sales of £318m (£320m in 2010), but the industry as a whole shrank by –6%.
Among the successes were market leader Penguin Children's Group, where revenues rose 19% to £62m (including £11m from its Wimpy Kid series), while HarperCollins was up 11.4% to £27.8m, Bloomsbury rose 14% to £8m, and Scholastic was up 7.8% to £12.2m. Penguin m.d. Francesca Dow said: "We had a spectacular year. It's all about having the right books and making sure that they are marketed effectively."
Those who had a tougher 2011 include Hachette Children's Books—down some 35%, reflecting the fall in paranormal sales—and Egmont, down by 8.9% to £19.8m following a more competitive annuals market. Rob McMenemy, senior vice-president, Egmont UK, said: "The end of 2011 was actually very strong for Egmont, thanks to two Spielberg films ("Tintin" and "War Horse"), and classics such as Blyton, Thomas and Mr Men, which tend to do well in recessionary markets."
Despite the fall in paranormal sales, Hachette Children's m.d. Marlene Johnson said: "Paranormal remains the top-selling YA brand and we are all looking for what will be the next new YA genre; outside the bestselling brands, books tend to get lost.
"It is the big brands that continue to sell for us, people like Cressida Cowell, Robert Muchamore and the Gallagher Girls. I think that will hold true for 2012 and we will continue to go down the true mass-market route, because that's what people will recognise."
McMenemy said 2011 saw the first strong moves into digital for the children's market: "There has been a real shift to apps and e-books, virtual worlds, blogs and marketing online—but while there were a lot of ideas, there was only a small amount of revenue during 2011. [In 2012], we will see a breakthrough where revenues from digital will be significant—around 20% for titles aimed at older age groups. We will also see publishers doing more to target consumers directly."
Internationally, publishers remain confident for 2012. McMenemy said: "When I am in Germany, there is not the same level of concern about the eurozone as in the UK." Dow added: "As in the UK, people tend to invest in their children during the recession, so we are confident about co-edition sales in the year ahead."
The greatest challenge for publishers in 2012 remains the high street, said Dow. "We can't underestimate the challenge of the economic climate and the pressure on bricks and mortar. We need the element of discoverability, for children to be able to see that the books are there and to want them, and it gets harder to do that with fewer display opportunities."
Johnson added that the "parlous state" of the library market presents another long-term challenge. "It used to allow you to break out new authors, and its ongoing decline is a huge threat to the breadth and depth of children's literature."