ISBN 1-85765-654-7

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Executive Summary

Table of Contents

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

After a 2 percent decrease in the UK retail book market between 1995 and 1996 (the year after the demise of the Net Book Agreement (NBA), which maintained the price at which books were sold), figures from The Publishers' Association (PA) show a strong recovery during 1997, with sales increasing by 5.9 percent.
The difficulties experienced by the retail trade in general during 1998 were reflected in the book market; Key Note estimates that sales of books rose by 2.4 percent during the year, to stand at £2.93bn.
Sales of consumer books were particularly badly hit by the retail slump, rising by only 1.6 percent. Academic and professional book sales increase by 3.1 percent on the 1997 figure. The market for school books benefited from Government initiatives intended to mark a commitment to literacy in schools, including additional payments to schools totalling £66m specifically for spending on books. School book sales rose by 8.6 percent during 1998.
The consolidation and rationalisation which has been taking place in the publishing industry over the past 30 years has continued. The trend in recent years has been for small- to medium-sized publishers to be bought up, often by large media groups, which in many cases have then divested themselves of certain parts of the operations to specialist publishers. Developments during 1998 included the acquisition of Random House by Bertelsmann, the purchase of academic publisher Routledge by Taylor & Francis, and the purchase of Cassell, one of the few remaining long-established independent publishers, by the Orion Group.
The prospect of the introduction of value-added tax (VAT) on books is a potential problem for the industry. Another current debate concerns the protection of territorial copyright, which is becoming increasingly difficult due to the growth of Internet bookselling.
Market growth over the next 5 years will continue to be slow, but steady; the market will reach an estimated £3.68bn by 2003.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

Market Definition

MARKET POSITION

MARKET SECTORS

MARKET SHARE

MARKET TRENDS

Table 1: UK Publishing Sales by Sector (£m and percent), 1998

Table 2: Sector Share of the UK Retail Book Market by Value ( percent), 1994-1998

Table 3: Estimated Sector Share of the UK Retail Book Market by Volume ( percent), 1998

Table 4: Average UK Weekly Household Expenditure on Books and Other Leisure Goods (£), 1997/1998

Table 5: Top Ten Hardback Bestsellers in the General Retail Market, 1998

Table 6: Top Ten Paperback Bestsellers in the General Retail Market, 1998

Table 7: Breakdown of Sales in the General Retail Market (£m), 1998

Market Size

THE TOTAL MARKET

MARKET SECTORS

OVERSEAS TRADE

Table 8: The Retail Value of the UK Book Market (£m), 1990-1998

Table 9: Output of Books in the UK, 1986-1997

Table 10: Major Categories of Book Titles Published in the UK, January to June 1997 and 1998

Table 11: UK Consumer Book Sales at Retail Value (£m), 1990-1998

Table 12: UK Academic/Professional Book Sales at Retail Value (£m), 1990-1998

Table 13: The UK Academic/Professional Book Market by Value (£m), 1997

Table 14: UK School Book Sales at Retail Value (£m), 1990-1998

Table 15: The School Book Market: Primary and Secondary Schools by Value (£m), 1996-1997

Table 16: The School Book Market: Textbooks and Library Books by Value (£m and percent), 1996-1997

Table 17: UK Publishers' Export Sales at Invoiced Price (£m), 1992-1997

Industry Background

RECENT HISTORY

RESTRUCTURING

INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION

TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

Table 18: Selected Imprints of Leading Publishing Companies, 1998

Table 19: Concentration in the Book Publishing Industry by Turnover (number of units and percent), 1998

Competitor Analysis

INTRODUCTION

MARKET LEADERS

ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION

Table 20: Publishers' Shares of Sales through the General Retail Market (£m), 1998

Table 21: Selected Leading Publishers by Turnover (£m), 1997/1998

Table 22: Main Media Advertising Expenditure by Publishers of Books (£000), Year to September 1997 and 1998

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)

STRENGHTS

WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

Buying Behaviour

CONSUMER PENETRATION

PURCHASING OF HARDBACK BOOKS

PURCHASING OF PAPERBACK BOOKS

CUSTOMER PROFILE

PURCHASING BY CATEGORY

Table 23: Book Buying Habits of Purchasers of Books in Great Britain in the Last 12 Months ( percent), 1996-1998

Table 24: Number of Hardback and Paperback Books Purchased for Self - Based on Those Who Have Bought Any ( percent), 1998

Table 25: Purchasers of Hardback Books by Sex, Age, Social Grade and Region ( percent penetration), 1998

Table 26: Purchasers of Paperback Books by Sex, Age, Social Grade and Region ( percent penetration), 1998

Table 27: Purchasers of Hardback and Paperback Books by Sex, Age, Social Grade and Region ( percent profile), 1998

Table 28: Categories of Hardback Books Purchased ( percent), 1998

Table 29: Categories of Paperback Books Purchased ( percent), 1998

Outside Suppliers to the Industry

PRINTERS

PAPER PRODUCERS

Current Issues

VAT ON BOOKS

THE ELECTRONIC AGE (1): THE INTERNET AND TERRITORIAL RIGHTS

THE ELECTRONIC AGE (2): ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING

Forecasts

BOOK AND THE CONSUMER

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

INTERNET BOOK TRADING

ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING

FORECASTS 1999 TO 2003

Table 30: Forecast Retail Value of the UK Book Market (£m), 1999-2003

Company Profiles

INTRODUCTION

DEFINITIONS

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Sources

ASSOCIATIONS

PERIODICALS

DIRECTORIES

GENERAL SOURCES

HBI UK INFORMATION SOURCES

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

OTHER SOURCES

Text © 1999 Key Note

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