Larsson brings sales boost to publisher
01 Sep 2010
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo author has "substantial" impact
The massive interest in late author Stieg Larsson has helped Random House achieve a year-on-year doubling of profits.
The publisher's company-wide sales jumped nearly 8 per cent in the period from January to June, with Larsson's Millennium trilogy - which Random publishes solely in the US and Germany - making a "substantial" impact on the figures according to c.e.o. Markus Dohle.
In a letter to colleagues, Dohle also revealed that worldwide digital sales were "on course to exceed $100m" for this fiscal year, reflecting the fact that Random had "really embraced digital transition" and replaced "anxieties about the format with forward thinking and well-executed action".
However, despite the strong performance Dohle went on to warn of an uncertain second half to the year, raising three main concerns: "consumer spending, which is uneven; consumer confidence, which is uncertain; and the economic recovery, which appears to be long and slow."
Gail Rebuck, chair and chief executive of The Random House Group, added to Dohle's remarks in a second note issued to staff.
She said that the publisher had "performed in line with our expectations for the first half of the year despite an exceptionally difficult sales environment", with a 24% share of the Sunday Times bestseller lists.
Looking to the future, she identified the need to "be agile and anticipate and respond to this fast-changing marketplace" and promised "exciting" developments in the digital market with the imminent launch of a "unique" social media project between Random House Children's Books and a global young adult social networking site.
There was "unprecedented" support from the trade for former PM Tony Blair's memoir A Journey, published today (September 1), as well as an autumn list "to be envied", she added.
ISBN: 9781847245458
By Jason Taylors
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