The year in review Lindhardt & Ringhof
Anette Wad, Managing Director Lindhardt & Ringhof about the year 2009.
Which key words describe 2009?
Lindhardt & Ringhof is on the right track. Many improvements have been made, our publication profiles have been sharpened, digitalisation is well underway, the book clubs have been stabilised, and educational publications have enjoyed an 8% revenue increase. And I would like to thank the Twilight vampires, for a rock-solid bestseller series that will continue to pay off in 2010.
What was satisfactory in 2009?
The completion of our major profitability programme, launched in early 2009, which has brought significant savings and improvements to the publishing company. A great number of employees were willing go the extra mile, and we can look forward to seeing the full impact of their efforts in 2010.
Which were the highlights of 2009?
That our imprint, Carlsen, became Denmark’s indisputably largest children’s publisher, as we, after acquiring Litas, consolidated all of Egmont’s Danish children’s publishing activities in Carlsen. And also Lindhardt & Ringhof, winning the tender to publish the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s children’s book portfolio, which adds beloved Danish children’s to the Carlsen family.
What was your greatest challenge?
Not surprisingly, the answer is the financial crisis and the cash flow squeeze that caused many book dealers to, all but stop, buying books in the third quarter of the year. We recovered some of the shortfall in the fourth quarter, but bookshop sales, for the year as a whole, were down 10% compared to 2008. The large publishers took the greatest hits from this decline, because the year’s high-profile bestsellers (Dan Brown and others) were mainly produced by the smaller publishers.
Which changes do you expect in 2010?
The sale of books through web shops and supermarkets, at the expense of bookshop sales, was an evident trend in 2009, and will continue to grow. Fewer traditional non- fiction books, because the web has made such publications redundant. The use of digital content on multiple platforms, and the ongoing pressure on prices, generated by the free book market, where books will be sold everywhere, but at lower prices.
From which digital initiatives do you expect the most in 2010?
Towards the end of 2009, together with Gyldendal, Lindhardt & Ringhof acquired the digital distribution company Publizon, with the intention of establishing a digital highway for the entire industry. In time, Publizon will be the sole distributor of digital books in Denmark to internet retail dealers and libraries. Creating an integrated digital distribution solution implies that anyone wanting to sell digital publications only has to shop in one place; an essential development if publishers and authors are to make money on digital publications.
Lindhardt & Ringhof is on the right track. Many improvements have been made, our publication profiles have been sharpened, digitalisation is well underway, the book clubs have been stabilised, and educational publications have enjoyed an 8% revenue increase. And I would like to thank the Twilight vampires, for a rock-solid bestseller series that will continue to pay off in 2010.
What was satisfactory in 2009?
The completion of our major profitability programme, launched in early 2009, which has brought significant savings and improvements to the publishing company. A great number of employees were willing go the extra mile, and we can look forward to seeing the full impact of their efforts in 2010.
Which were the highlights of 2009?
That our imprint, Carlsen, became Denmark’s indisputably largest children’s publisher, as we, after acquiring Litas, consolidated all of Egmont’s Danish children’s publishing activities in Carlsen. And also Lindhardt & Ringhof, winning the tender to publish the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s children’s book portfolio, which adds beloved Danish children’s to the Carlsen family.
What was your greatest challenge?
Not surprisingly, the answer is the financial crisis and the cash flow squeeze that caused many book dealers to, all but stop, buying books in the third quarter of the year. We recovered some of the shortfall in the fourth quarter, but bookshop sales, for the year as a whole, were down 10% compared to 2008. The large publishers took the greatest hits from this decline, because the year’s high-profile bestsellers (Dan Brown and others) were mainly produced by the smaller publishers.
Which changes do you expect in 2010?
The sale of books through web shops and supermarkets, at the expense of bookshop sales, was an evident trend in 2009, and will continue to grow. Fewer traditional non- fiction books, because the web has made such publications redundant. The use of digital content on multiple platforms, and the ongoing pressure on prices, generated by the free book market, where books will be sold everywhere, but at lower prices.
From which digital initiatives do you expect the most in 2010?
Towards the end of 2009, together with Gyldendal, Lindhardt & Ringhof acquired the digital distribution company Publizon, with the intention of establishing a digital highway for the entire industry. In time, Publizon will be the sole distributor of digital books in Denmark to internet retail dealers and libraries. Creating an integrated digital distribution solution implies that anyone wanting to sell digital publications only has to shop in one place; an essential development if publishers and authors are to make money on digital publications.
March 2010
