U.S. Publishers See Ongoing Sales Growth in Print and E-format Books Worldwide, According to 2013 Industry Export Sales Report
New York, NY; June 27, 2013 – English-language books from US Trade sector publishers continue to flourish worldwide, especially in Europe and Asia and in expanding online international retail sales channels, according to the second annual Association of American Publishers (AAP) Export Sales Report being released today. The report also shows particular worldwide growth in US-published, English-language fiction for Adults and Young Adults.
The report examines US Trade sector (publishers of fiction and non-fiction) 2012 net sales revenue from international markets and includes data from all major consumer publishing houses.
The Export Sales Report is now available through AAP. For pricing information and a purchasing form, contact info@publishers.org
Among this year’s highlights:
- Total overall 2012 net revenue from non-US markets reported by publishers is $833.389 million, increasing +7.2% vs 2011. This represents 135,526 million units, a gain of +2.4% vs last year. Publishers’ net revenue from export of eBooks increased by +63% and print books by +1.3% over the same period.
- For 2012, the top territories generating revenue from print were Asia, Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland. The top countries contributing to print sales (in ranking order) were the UK, Germany, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines and Singapore. The countries with the greatest year-to-year increases in print revenue were the Philippines, the UK, France, Colombia and the United Arab Emirates.
- For eBook revenue, the revenue-generating territories were led by Europe, followed by the UK and then closely by the territory including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. The top countries contributing to eBook sales were the UK, Australia, Germany, France, Norway and Switzerland. Germany showed the greatest year-on-year revenue gains while New Zealand, Spain, Italy, South Africa and Brazil also contributed significant eBook revenue gains.
- While all genres were strong, US publishers’ titles for children and youth, particularly Young Adult Fiction, showed powerful growth in nearly every international market and especially in Asia. The numbers were driven by contemporary authors and titles as well as perennial classics, both of which have strong global footholds. YA Fiction sales were particularly strong in print paperback editions.
- Asia is a thriving market for US publishers for several reasons. English-language literacy, already important in a number of Asian countries, is rapidly growing among populations in more countries including China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Also, the Asian market places strong emphasis on education and English Language Teaching (ELT), and books from US Children’s/Young Adult publishers are considered critical to longterm education investments. US books about business, management, technology and finance do very well in Asia for similar reasons: these reflect regional aspirations for advancement and the focus on a world economy with English as a common language.
- Online retail as a sales distribution channel increased greatly over the past year. Countries showing particular growth include Italy, Spain, Japan, France, China, Germany and Brazil. These gains were driven by established retailers opening new markets as well as new online retail partners emerging in some countries.
- US publishers’ worldwide sales, distribution and marketing strategies had a significant local focus. Over the past year, US Trade publishers expanded their global presence through focused online marketing attention in major overseas markets; additionally, they increased international sales and marketing efforts through partnerships with strong, well-established local channels – brick-and-mortar and online – bringing effective social media brands.
Data for this report was extrapolated from BookStats 2013, the industry survey co-produced by AAP and the Book Industry Study Group, and supplemental country-specific data provided by all major consumer publishers and their distribution clients, a total of 150 publishers. Participating publishers included Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, MIT, Penguin Group, Perseus Book Group, Random House and Simon & Schuster.
