Product Type: Market Research Report
Published by: Key Note Publications Ltd
Published: October 2007
Product Code: R310-1502Description This report examines the UK book publishing industry. The book market in the UK is the second largest in Europe after that of Germany. Like most other book markets, the UK market is mature and is therefore growing fairly slowly in value, though in volume it is growing by around 5% to 6% a year. This report looks principally at the market for UK publishers' books in the UK, which comprises three sectors: consumer books; academic and professional books; and school books.
Key Note estimates that the value of retail book sales in 2006 was £4.24bn, which represents a 3.3% increase on 2005. Around two-thirds of the market is accounted for by consumer sales.
There are approximately a dozen very large publishing groups followed by a number of small to medium-sized companies and thousands of small publishers. The industry is dominated by the big publishing groups such as Reed Elsevier PLC, Pearson PLC, Hachette Livre UK, Random House UK, Informa PLC and HarperCollins UK. Most of these companies have very significant sales outside the UK. In the consumer sector of the UK book market, Hachette Livre UK and Random House UK are the largest publishers. Other major companies include Macmillan Ltd, owned by Bertelsmann in Germany, and Thomson Corporation PLC. Oxford University Press and the Cambridge University Press also play an important part in the market.
The percentage of adults who buy books has increased marginally. Book buying is still concentrated among those aged 30 to 50, but those aged 50 and over and teenagers have become key sources of growth. In addition, women tend to buy more books than men.
Several themes are apparent in the market. Publishers are keen to exploit the opportunities of the Internet and some of the large publishers are creating digital warehouses. It is not clear what role electronic books will play in the future, but many publishers want to be prepared for when the market in e-books becomes more obvious. They are also concerned about issues such as copyright, piracy, open access for academic research and territorial rights.
Meanwhile, educational publishing has seen its biggest shake-up in years, with a number of leading companies changing hands. Educational publishers are also the centre of attention for another reason. Many of them are registered as charities but, in 2008, new charity legislation comes into force, and it is not yet clear how this will affect charitable publishers.
Key Note forecasts slow growth in the book publishing market to 2011. However, UK publishers can take some comfort from the fact that the UK market will probably be growing at about the same rate as the book markets of continental Europe and the US.
Table of Contents - 1. Market Definition
- Report Coverage
- MARKET SECTORS
- Consumer Books
- Academic and Professional Books
- School Books
- MARKET TRENDS
- ECONOMIC TRENDS
- Population
- Table 1: UK Resident Population Estimates by Sex (000), Mid-Years 2002-2006
- Gross Domestic Product
- Table 2: UK Gross Domestic Product at Current and Annual Chain-Linked Prices (£m), 2002-2006
- Inflation
- Table 3: UK Rate of Inflation (%), 2002-2006
- Unemployment
- Table 4: Actual Number of Unemployed Persons in the UK (million), 2002-2006
- MARKET POSITION
- The UK
- Table 5: UK Publishing Sales by Sector by Value (£m and %), 2007
- Figure 1: UK Publishing Sales by Sector by Value (%), 2007
- 2. Market Size
- THE TOTAL MARKET
- Retail Value
- Table 6: The Total UK Retail Book Market by Sector by Value (£m), 2002-2006
- Figure 2: The Total UK Retail Book Market by Sector by Value (£m), 2002-2006
- Table 7: Sector Share of the UK Retail Book Market by Value (%), 2007
- Book Output
- Table 8: Number of New and Revised Books Titles in the UK, 2000-2006
- BY MARKET SECTOR
- Consumer Books
- Table 9: The UK Retail Consumer Book Sector by Value (£m), 2002-2006
- Academic and Professional Books
- Table 10: The UK Retail Academic and Professional Book Sector by Value (£m), 2002-2006
- School Books
- Table 11: The UK Retail School Books Sector by Value (£m), 2002-2006
- OVERSEAS TRADE
- Exports
- Table 12: UK Publishers' Export Sales by Value (£m), 2001-2006
- Imports
- 3. Industry Background
- RECENT HISTORY
- INDUSTRY SYNOPSIS
- Table 13: Financial Results of UK Publishers (£000, % and £), 2006/2007
- NUMBER OF COMPANIES
- Table 14: Number of UK VAT-Based Enterprises Engaged in the Book Publishing Industry by Turnover Sizeband (number and %), 2004-2006
- EMPLOYMENT
- Table 15: Number of UK VAT-Based Local Units Engaged in the Book Publishing Industry by Employment Sizeband (number and %), 2004-2006
- REGIONAL VARIATIONS
- DISTRIBUTION
- Retailing
- Bookshop Chains
- Independent Bookshops
- Supermarkets and Mixed Multiples
- Book Clubs/Mail Order
- The Internet
- Other Outlets
- How Robust is The MARKET?
- LEGISLATION
- KEY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
- The Booksellers Association
- The Independent Publishers Guild
- The Publishers Association
- Other Trade Organisations
- Book Marketing Ltd
- Nielsen BookData
- 4. Competitor Analysis
- THE MARKETPLACE
- MARKET LEADERS
- Table 16: Leading UK Publishers by Turnover and Pre-Tax Profit (£m), Latest Financial Year
- Reed Elsevier PLC
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Pearson PLC
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Informa PLC
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Thomson Corporation PLC
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Oxford University Press
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Hachette Livre UK
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Random House Group Ltd
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Macmillan Publishers Ltd
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Blackwell Publishing Ltd
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Cambridge University Press
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- The Quarto Group Inc
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Company Structure
- Current and Future Developments
- Financial Results
- OTHER COMPANIES
- Marketing Activity
- Main Media Advertising Expenditure
- Table 17: Main Media Advertising Expenditure by Leading Publishers (£000), Years Ending March 2005, 2006 and 2007
- Exhibitions
- 5. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
- STRENGTHS
- WEAKNESSES
- OPPORTUNITIES
- THREATS
- 6. Buying Behaviour
- Consumer Penetration
- Purchasing Patterns
- Table 18: The Purchase of Consumer Books in the UK in the Last 12 Months (%), 1997-2006
- Book Purchasing by Demographic Group
- Table 19: Penetration of Purchasers of Hardback and Paperback Books by Sex, Age, Social Grade and Region (% of adults), 2003-2006
- Consumer Profile
- Purchasing by Demographic Group
- Table 20: Profile of Purchasers of Hardback and Paperback Books by Sex, Age, Social Grade and Region (%), 2003-2006
- AUDIO BOOKS
- AND THE FUTURE?
- 7. Current Issues
- STATE OF THE MARKET
- WHAT KIND OF DIGITAL FUTURE?
- US/UK RIGHTS
- COPYRIGHT
- CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS
- A PARLIAMENTARY GROUP FOR PUBLISHERS
- 8. The Global Market
- Market Size
- Europe
- Beyond Europe
- 9. Forecasts
- Economic Forecasts
- Table 21: UK Economic Forecast for Population, Gross Domestic Product, Inflation and Unemployment (000, % and million), 2007-2011
- FORECAST 2007 to 2011
- Table 22: The Forecast Total UK Retail Book Market (£m), 2007-2011
- Market Growth
- Figure 3: The Forecast Total UK Retail Book Market (£m), 2002-2011
- Future TRends
- Alarm Over Open Access in the Academic Sector
- Will the Charities Review Affect Publishers?
- 10. Company Profiles
- Blackwell Publishing Ltd
- Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
- HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
- Informa Plc
- Macmillan Publishers Ltd
- Pearson Plc
- The Quarto Group Inc
- The Random House Group Ltd
- Reed Elsevier Group Plc
- 11. Consumer Confidence
- METHODOLOGY
- KEY FINDINGS THIS QUARTER
- THE WILLINGNESS TO BORROW
- Confidence Improves
- Table A: The Average Amount Consumers Are Willing to Borrow in Order to Purchase Expensive Items at Current and Constant November 2004 Prices (£ and £bn), February 2006-2007
- Willingness to Borrow Slips Slightly
- Table B: The Number of Adults Willing to Borrow in Order to Purchase Expensive Items (000 and %), February 2006-2007
- SPENDING FROM SAVINGS
- Slight Increase in Spending from Savings
- Table C: The Average Amount Consumers Are Willing to Spend from Savings in Order to Purchase Expensive Items at Current and Constant November 2004 Prices (£ and £bn), February 2006-2007
- Saving Grows in Relative Importance
- Table D: The Average Amounts Adults Are Confident Spending to Purchase Expensive Items (£ and %), February 2006-2007
- 12. Further Sources
- Associations
- Publications
- Government Publications
- General Sources
- Other Sources
- Bisnode Sources
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