Publishers hope for good Christmas
COVID-19 affected sales earlier in year but recovery appears likely
SYDNEY — Being stuck at home during a worldwide pandemic may sound like an ideal time to crack open a new book but it hasn’t necessarily resulted in stellar sales, according to a recent report for the Association of Canadian Publishers.
According to the association, almost half of independent English-language publishing houses are expecting lower sales revenue of at least 40 per cent while 10 per cent of Canadian publishers are expecting a decline of at least 60 per cent. Yet, thanks to a relatively old-fashioned form of advertising, Cape Breton Books publisher Ron Caplan remains optimistic.
“It was very hard for the stores and we recognized it and we just thought we were going to have a very poor year — but as it turned out, we put out a catalogue and we’ve had a wonderful response,” said Caplan. “I can’t give you a percentage of what we are down or up but I can tell you, we’re grateful for the response.”
Caplan’s Breton Books catalogue has been inserted in newspapers like the Cape Breton Post for years and it is mailed out as well, reaching at least 23,000 households.
Caplan had been hopeful people would order after a slow summer but the depth of the response has surprised even him.
“The catalogue always has done well for us at this time of year but this is extraordinary. People are making bigger orders and a wider range. Part of it has to do with the books themselves. There are some very interesting new books about Cape Breton this year.”
Alex Liot, chief marketing officer for the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association, says people are reading more but a lack of access in the first part of the pandemic hurt publishers. Sales through stores slumped because those stores were closed due to pandemic restrictions.
“The issue is access — supply and demand, two very separate things,” said Liot. “For us, especially in March, because publishers are fundamentally wholesale manufacturers and the vast majority of their product gets sold through retail chains — they get a sniffle, we get a cold. It’s a bad pun but when (retail stores) closed down, it just basically shut off. I can’t put a number on it because I don’t know, but maybe 90 per cent of the supply chain got shut off overnight. So people went to other places. Our survey showed an interesting lift for the first time in many years in electronic book consumption.”
Liot is optimistic sales will return through the holiday season but it won’t be like last year when people could jam into stores at the last minute.
“Last Christmas, remember those bookstores were jammed,” said Liot. “So that’s been a concern but it’s been really encouraging. The last five weeks, at least from my view, looking at regional books, we’re ahead of last year … people are getting out earlier and buying books which is great. The question is, will that hold through the remainder of December. These last two weeks are the two biggest book selling weeks of the year.”
Liot’s organization represents 32 Atlantic-based publishers who publish about 250 books each year. A survey done earlier this year indicated that 79 per cent of people were interested in supporting local books and publishing but that 35 per cent didn’t feel equipped to do so. The Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association launched a campaign to make people more familiar with this region’s books, including a teal lighthouse logo that would indicate a book is from the Atlantic region.
“We launched a brand new website and a whole new way to engage and it’s linked into the libraries and local bookstores so it’s not just about selling books online but it’s also about connecting consumers to wherever they can get our books,” said Liot. “Whenever we can push someone into buying from a local bookstore, that is our preference. That’s how everyone in the system survives. It’s best for retail and that’s how local authors get the most exposure.”