The Bookwire Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report - Bookwire
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
The Bookwire
Spanish and Portuguese
Digital Markets Report
BookwireIndex
1. INTRODUCTION
3
2. DIGITAL TRENDS IN THE SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE MARKETS
5
3. PUBLISHING IN THE SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE MARKETS
7
ARGENTINA
7
BRAZIL
10
COLOMBIA
12
CHILE
14
ECUADOR
16
SPAIN
18
MEXICO
23
PERU
27
PORTUGAL
28
4. CONCLUSIONS
30
5. ABOUT BOOKWIRE, CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
33
Notes
34
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report3
1. INTRODUCTION
Over the past few years, many international pub- will grow by 2.5% in 2015, one of the lowest rates
lishers who regularly attend book fairs in Latin in a decade, according to IMF numbers. This rate
American countries and have established their may be pushed up by a highly likely rise in foreign
publishing brands on that continent have clearly demand, or it could fall if the decrease in demand
observed two critical issues central to the future for raw materials were to force prices down.
of books there: print book exports to the region In such case, Latin American economies with
have stagnated – and are trending downward – greater dependence on exports may enter into a
while the emerging digital transition is beginning period of sluggishness.
generate keen interest all over the region. There
is a convergence of forces that could lead to a real In this decade, Latin America has witnessed a sig-
explosion of digital commerce in these countries nificant rise of the middle class (50% according to
within the next decade. the World Bank), private consumption (now up to
67% to 75% of the GDP) and access to education
This paper presents a range of essential figures (school enrolment rates have greatly increased
and perspectives with a view to enabling profes- although there are still high levels of poverty and
sionals in the publishing sector around the world inequality). Some indicators suggest that the
to understand the transformation currently region is facing a profound social (and cultural)
taking place in the Spanish- and Portuguese- transition. In order to sustain future growth
language markets, as well as the business and continue progress in reducing poverty and
opportunities this transformation presents. inequality, Latin American countries need to
Spanish-language markets represent over 500 address three important challenges: support
million Spanish speakers mainly living in Latin for education, a firm commitment to the digital
America and Spain, along with the US, where economy, and an increase in R&D spending,
the latest census counted over 50 million people which represents 0.8% of regional GDP – still a
of Hispanic or Latino origin, including nearly 40 far cry from the nearly 3% in the U.S. or 3.4% in
million who speak Spanish at home. Portuguese South Korea.
markets represent over 200 million Portuguese
speakers, living mainly in Brazil and Portugal, as In order to analyse and design suitable business
well as Mozambique and Angola. scenarios, it is important to distinguish the two eco-
nomic and largely geo-political blocs which have
A decade of economic, political and social sta- emerged in Latin America. On the one hand, the
bility across Latin America has provided a solid Pacific Alliance (Chile, Peru, Colombia y Mexico),
foundation for its various book markets. A look at and on the other Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil,
the data around future growth in Latin America, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela). The first bloc is
however, should give any publishing professional much more dynamic, pragmatic and open, and the
pause. Latin America and the Caribbean are second bloc is more protectionist and bureaucratic.
currently in a period of transition: the end of the Needless to say, the first bloc offers better perspec-
“golden decade” (2003-2013), a cycle of prosperity tives for all kinds of business and transactions,
marked by continuous economic growth and particularly in the book sector, primarily due to the
huge social progress, and the birth of a new era opening up of its economies to the outside world
that will be marked by a slower growth rate and and the free trade agreements they have with
a drop in the prices of raw materials. A number Europe, Asia and the U.S. A basic working knowl-
of sources have forecast that Latin America’s GDP edge of this situation is an important prerequisite
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report4
to designing publishing business and marketing these countries. At the same time, the growing
strategies for the continent. penetration of e-commerce platforms, both B2B
and B2C, and their arrival in America mark the
We firmly believe that digital books offer a beginning of a new and undeniably significant
unique opportunity for Spanish- and Portuguese- market ecosystem in terms of the potential for
language publishing, a global marketplace that greater visibility for Latin American publisher
could create greater visibility for Latin American catalogues. Considering that the number of pub-
titles on both sides of the Atlantic. For the past 40 lishers that exported paper books to America was
years, the Spanish-language book business has relatively limited until recently, the ready avail-
been built on a lack of symmetry between Spain ability of mature digital platforms could bring
and Latin America. Spanish books travelled to about an exponential increase in the number of
America but Latin American books for the most titles available in Spanish in Latin America from
part didn’t make it to Spain, or arrived in dribs publishers all over the world. From this stand-
and drabs. Digital books have the potential to point, the digital book business has reached a
shatter this imbalance if Latin American pub- crucial juncture on both sides of the Atlantic.
lishers understand and accept the need to build The opportunity is there and should be realized,
the basic digital infrastructure necessary to make both in Spain and Latin America. As readers, we
their own publishing industry competitive. can consider ourselves extremely lucky; access
to a great mass of content in Spanish is excellent
The design of digital distribution and sales news.
channels is essential for emerging publishers in
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report5
2. DIGITAL TRENDS IN THE SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE MARKETS
Though it wouldn’t be correct to talk about Latin thus contributing to a gradual improvement
America as a unified whole, given that each in the GDP of each country in the region. A rise
country moves at its own pace and has its unique in 3G broadband connections would yield an
characteristics, still there are general trends increase in mobile e-commerce for the entire
throughout the continent, and these should be region – keeping in mind that mobile (cell) phone
analysed with precision, as well as with a certain penetration currently stands at 84% across Latin
amount of caution. America.
In a few short years we have seen the world’s When it comes to the book world and its poten-
economy begin to revolve around the Internet. tial development, there are two important phe-
According to the World Bank, every 10% nomena to look at: publishing production on one
increase in penetration on the Internet can hand, and on the other the speed of the digital
mean a 1.3% growth rate in the GDP of emerg- transition in buying habits. According to recent
ing countries. Latin America is a continent with research published by CERLALC1 in its report,
a very high growth forecast despite the fact that “Libro en Cifras nº 5” (The Book in Numbers,
the average of internet connected users is a little No. 5), we are at the brink of an important transi-
over 40%, whereas the average in OECD coun- tion. Here’s a look at some of the data:
tries is around 80%. The potential for growth
is very high due to the substantial rise of the End of year data for 2013 shows an increase in
middle class throughout the entire continent publishing production of 8.9%, from 178,971 titles
resulting from the positive economic outlook in published in 2012 to 194,009 titles in 2013.
the region.
The number of titles published digitally account-
Despite this growth, the region still has an enor- ed for about 17%.
mous digital divide, both of supply and demand.
The former is caused by the limited reach of wired eBooks have increased share from 8% of
networks due to lack of infrastructure, which books published in 2010, to 14% in 2011, and
translates into slow Internet connections; the 17% in 2013.
latter is determined by the economic inequality
affecting much of the population and related low Although the digital percentage may still seem
levels of cultural and educational attainment. fairly low, what is noteworthy is the way the
Nevertheless, Internet usage is increasing rapidly numbers are trending upward. Coupled with
and penetration is expected to reach 53% in 2016, the large increase in the number of readers who
with an annual growth rate of 13%. claim to read on electronic devices, it would be
reasonable to assume that there will be a sub-
Breaking the digital divide is a challenge faced stantial change in reading habits in the region.
by all Latin American economies. Economic
modernization requires investing in new technol- For more than a year now, e-commerce volume
ogies and promoting Internet use in areas such via B2C channels has been very strong. Many
as business, industry, and politics. In this sense, it Spanish publishers have acknowledged that their
is essential to encourage and implement public digital sales in Latin America account for 25% to
policies that support the adoption of broadband, 50% of their total worldwide ebook sales.
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report6
Figures pertaining to LATAM paper imports allow Estimate by Country
us to contrast the content and impact of books Institutional digital book sales market share Total
100%
exported from Spain.
Value of Book Exports by Subject 2013 2013/12 50%
Literature 10.38% -16.76% 36
30 26
20 18 14
Religion 18.64% 14.81% 0%
Brazil Mexico Chile Colombia Argentina Peru
Science and technology 13.20% -13.01%
The significant loss of momentum for print
Social Science 12.53% -7.26%
books in all non-retail sales channels in the
Children’s & young adult region is increasingly plain, opening up major
14.32% -4.88% business opportunities for publishers that lead
literature
the creation of new institutional B2B sales chan-
nels. Publishers capable of implementing new
According to various studies, 60% of these sub- business models and digital sales networks2 in
jects are absorbed by non-retail channels. This Latin America will achieve a secure and lasting
suggests that reach of the digital transition has competitive advantage. Fearlessness in embrac-
the potential to be very broad, with accelerated ing innovation through new business models
rates of change. designed to facilitate access and purchasing by
libraries, universities, schools and government
The predictable and already evident decrease in institutions will be one of the keys to the digital
print book sales is bound to be accompanied by market in the region.
an increase in digital sales, particularly in librar-
ies, universities, and institutions. A reasonable Finally, one model with great potential for Latin
forecast would be that in four or five years, more America is subscription, primarily through retail
than 60% of purchases by libraries and universi- channels and linked to major telecom opera-
ties in Latin America will be entirely digital. It is tors, which will offer ebooks as part of service
consequently essential to develop far reaching packages including television, fixed and mobile
e-commerce networks, aggregation platforms telephony, and related cultural and entertain-
with large and comprehensive catalogues and ment content such as music, video, films, and
user-friendly purchase mechanisms, and clearly videogames. The development of these models
identifiable commercial metadata. Print on should lead the publishing industry to view sub-
demand (POD) is also likely to reach significant scription models from the perspective of a service
volume within a very short space of time. rather than conforming to the pay-per-download
model.
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report7
3. PUBLISHING IN THE SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE MARKETS
The enormous production of titles in the last ʞʞ Promotion of policies to support the digiti-
few years, both in print and digital, would seem sation of publishing content.
to indicate that LATAM is thirsty for books. This
increase in production is evidenced by the data ʞʞ Support of access to reading through
periodically gathered by CERLALC, using national public policies.
ISBN agencies as sources. In 2013, 194,009 titles
were published in Latin America, an increase of ʞʞ Reduction of unit prices with a view
8.9% over the 178,971 titles published in 2012. to reaching larger segments of the
population.
Stepping back to look at production rates within
a broader time frame, the remarkable increase ʞʞ Construction of reading networks and new
from the 49,648 titles published in 2000 means marketing channels for the dissemination
that production has increased at an average of books.
annual rate of 12%. This significant growth, sus-
tained over many years, leads to the conclusion ʞʞ Plans to support the bookstore ecosystem.
that highly consolidated and competitive nation-
al markets are being created. ʞʞ Promotion of policies to generate demand.
Even so, LATAM is still a basically an import ʞʞ Development of policies to promote the
market with running trade deficits. Moreover, its widespread incorporation of information
boost in production has not been accompanied technology to every link in the book value
by a significant increase in rates of reading, which chain in order to increase return on invest-
implies a growing tension in distribution chan- ed capital.
nels with little flexibility in terms of operational
functionality. This state of affairs points to certain
variables that need improvement in the Latin ARGENTINA
American book ecosystem:
The Republic of Argentina, with a population of
ʞʞ Improvement and expansion of digital over 41 million inhabitants and one of the highest
sales and distribution channels. rates of development, per capita income, and
quality of life in South America, is a major power
ʞʞ Creation of national metadata standards, for in the region.
both print and digital formats, so that any
sales platform can receive clean, well-formed An initial glance at the latest survey on cultural
metadata, both structural and commercial, consumption3 indicates that Argentina is one of
ready to be ingested into its databases and the countries with the highest rates of reading
made available to all kinds of users. in Latin America. There are a lot of readers (85%)
and reading habits are widespread in almost
ʞʞ Linking these national standards into a every format (newspapers, books, magazines
worldwide Spanish pan-Latin American and computer screens). 73% of the population
standard should be considered as a move reads newspapers, about 56% reads at least 1
toward the construction of a powerful book a year, a little less than 50% have read mag-
digital framework for global e-commerce. azines over the past year, and almost the same
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report8
percentage read texts from computer screens or music online, and finding out the latest news
tablets. from newspapers or alternative media are also
common activities. 30% of Argentinians play
Digital reading is already widespread when it videogames.
comes to newspapers, although it is much lower
for books (just 8% of the population claims to The penetration of digital technologies in the
have read a digital book). Computer screens are publishing industry is uneven. Although online
the fastest growing format and have already newspapers, blogs and magazines are increasing
reached 45% of Argentineans, more than double steadily and may snatch consumers away from
the percentage revealed by the First National the print market, the consumption of ebooks is
Reading Survey 10 years ago. As to those who very scarce in Argentina and still in no position to
reported reading at least one book a year, 37% complement traditional books. The most popular
read weekly (either every day or a few days a spending on culture is the purchase or rental of
week), 11% read on a monthly basis and 8% read films or movies: 55% spent money on that sector
with less frequency. Looking at the total popula- during the last year and 34% spent up to $100.
tion of the country (including those who do not The percentage of consumers who purchased
read), almost 3 books are read a year per person books within the last year (39%) is somewhat
aged 12 or older. The most widely read genres are lower than that of consumers who bought or
stories, novels, and biographies, and the most rented films, but the amount spent was greater
popular subject is history. (20% spent more than $200 on book purchases).
Total spending on culture comes to about 5% of
Books are therefore widely read in Argentina: the minimum yearly salary the year the survey
56% of the population, the highest rate in Latin was given (2013) excluding Internet, and 9% if the
America. However, magazines, read by 47% cost of Internet is included.
of readers, seem to be at a standstill or on the
decline. Until recently, digital books have been a According to the Cámara del Libro de Argentina4,
marginal phenomenon: only 7% of Argentinians publishing production rose in 2013 to 27,757
read in both formats and just 1% claim to exclu- titles and 88,171,750 copies. There was a 5%
sively read ebooks. increase in titles over 2012, when 26,367 titles
were published, however there was a 6%
Cell phones play a central role in digital con- decrease in copies, as 2012 saw the production of
sumption. Their extended use as music and radio 94,272,206 copies.
players indicate significant possibilities for devel-
opment. 24% of users connect to the Internet via Looking at titles by declared print run, the
their cell phones. average among the 16,366 trade titles is 2,969
copies. 46% of books had a declared print run of
Among content consumed online, social net- 1 to 999 copies, 16% of 1,000 to 1,999 copies, and
works top the list with a 57% share of users. The about 9% of 2000 to 2999 copies.
primacy of social networks is confirmed in a
ranking of the most visited websites: Facebook Turning to production figures based on publish-
ranks first with 24% of hits and You Tube is ers’ legal status, 55% of books were published
second with 22%. 55% of users have a profile by publishing companies, about 17% by other
on Facebook and 13% have a Twitter account. businesses, 12% by authors, and 6% by public
Checking emails, downloading or listening to universities.
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report9
Book distribution channels may be broken down products, or by causing companies to compen-
as follows: sate imports with an equal amount of products
sold abroad. In this regard, the information
ʞʞ Free distribution: 8% provided by CERLALC for 2013 indicates that 14%
of imports came from within Latin America and
ʞʞ Newsstands: 8% 86% from outside the region. On the other side of
the equation, Argentinian books were exported
ʞʞ Bookstores: 20% mainly to Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay.
ʞʞ Direct distribution: 61% Although the Chamber did not disclose sales
volume data, a report from the Observatorio de
ʞʞ Institutional sales: 2% Industrias Creativas5 indicates total sales of 3,200
million pesos in 2012, and more recent figures
As to formats produced, print books represent estimate the size of the market at about 3,600
84% and ebooks 16%, demonstrating slow annual million pesos.
growth with respect to ebooks. 4,427 ebooks were
produced in 2013, 58% of which were distributed One positive development of note is the increas-
directly, 15% were sold through bookstores, and ing importance of the Buenos Aires Book Fair6.
16% were distributed free of charge. The most It has become the most popular book fair in
widely published subjects in digital format were the Spanish speaking world in terms of visitors
social science, 19%, and literature, 22%. According (over 1.2 million) and the second most import-
to information published by CERLALC (2013), ant in relation to publishing, preceded only by
ebooks experienced a higher rate of growth in Guadalajara in Mexico.
Argentina than in the region as a whole. eBooks
grew in Latin America from 2010-2012 at a rate Lastly, mention should also be made of the excel-
of 131.3%, while in Argentina they tripled: in lent selection of bookstores in Argentina, many of
2008, 981 ebooks were produced, while by 2013 which are concentrated in Buenos Aires. By some
that number had increased to 4,427. Despite this counts there are more than 2,200 bookstores,
strong upward trend, the overall ebook share is with an increasingly important role played by
still just 1% of the total market. bookselling chains (Fausto, Distal, Yenny, Ateneo,
Cúspide), many of which have been modernised
Turning now to an examination of foreign trade, in the last few years. These chains often have a
three major developments stand out. Firstly, large number of stores, although independent
there has been a significant drop in imports, bookstores are also plentiful. According to the
which fell from $117 million in 2011 to $52 million Sistema de Información Cultural de Argentina7,
in 2013; secondly, there has been a drop in exports there are 2,256 registered bookstores, generating
from $41 million in 2011 to $31 million in 2013; and 80% of sales. Bookstores are generally larger
finally, there has been a significant improvement than those in Spain and the booksellers who staff
in the negative trade balance in the past few them tend to be highly knowledgeable.
years due not to an increase in exports but rather
to the drastic drop in imports. In short, Argentina is the third largest Spanish-
language book producer, behind Spain and
The severe reduction in imports was prompted Mexico, with an expanding market and enor-
by policies attempting to replace part of the pub- mous potential for digital sales within the next
lishing imports with nationally manufactured few years.
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report10
BRAZIL are published per year, with a particular empha-
sis on education and practical nonfiction, as well
Brazil is the world’s fifth largest and most pop- as fiction for adults, young adults, and children.
ulated country (200 million inhabitants), occu- One distinguishing feature of Brazil’s market is
pying the eastern half of South America. With a that domestic authors predominate: 51,905 titles
value of 3 billion euros, Brazil’s is the ninth largest by Brazilian authors were published in 2012 as
book market in the world, behind Italy and Spain opposed to 5,862 by foreign authors.
and roughly on a par with Korea and India, while
clearly outstripping Russia. The book market in Brazil has been in constant
growth for many years. There are more than 750
Despite its recent economic slowdown, Brazil’s highly active publishers, of which more than 500
economy is one of the ten most powerful in the published at least 5 works per year and over 5,000
world. In the last few years it has grown at a rate copies in total, demonstrating a highly developed
of 4%, despite evident signs of sluggishness and professional publishing sector and high quality
stagnation, with an inflation rate of about 6%. book production measured by international
Having experienced exceptional growth, the standards. This, in turn, has led to a significant
Brazilian economy appears to be showing signs expansion of the market and awoken the interest
of exhaustion, related to a drop in investment of many international publishing groups and the
and stagnation in domestic consumption (due major digital retailers. Brazil is a high growth
to housing debt) and export commodity prices. market. Fairs such as the Rio Book Fair (Bienal do
Growth was weak in 2012 but rose again in 2013 Livro Rio), the Sao Paulo Book Fair (Bienal do Livro
(2.5%) and inflation reached 6%. The pace of Sao Paulo) or the Porto Alegre Book Fair (Feria
economic growth should remain consistent over do Livro de Porto Alegre) have begun to play an
the next few years. The country has made a huge important role in the international book trade.
effort in the past decade to update infrastructure
and increase competitiveness, resulting in across According to information released by the
the board improvement in the population’s Brazilian Book Chamber (Camara Brazileira do
human development index. Livro)9:
In the cultural sector, Brazil has made huge ʞʞ Nominal growth of the Brazilian publish-
strides in improving reading rates and library ser- ing industry was 7.52% in 2013.
vices. There are now over 5,000 libraries, equal-
ling a high ratio of 2.47 libraries per 100,000 ʞʞ This percentage signifies real growth of
inhabitants. According to CERLALC8, 4 books are 1.52% in terms of a 5.91% variation of the
read per person per year, 50% of Brazilians are HICP in 2013.
considered non-readers, and libraries see high
rates of use. ʞʞ The total number of copies sold increased
by 4.13% counting trade sales only, and
The boom of the book sector in Brazil, largely 20.41% counting sales to government.
supported by the government through programs
to boost education and digital publishing, has ʞʞ This means that the book sector experi-
slowed of late. A close look at the publishing enced an increase of 1.70% in 2013 count-
sector in Brazil shows a high concentration of ing trade sales only. The average price of
capital and a wide range of products on offer in books, however, decreased by 4% if the
all areas of publishing. An ample number of titles 5.91% HCIP is taken into consideration.
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report11
ʞʞ The sale of ebooks increased 225.13% from in the sector, these figures do not reflect the
2012 to 2013 but still represents a very reality in view of the lack of transparency of the
small percentage of total book revenues. main players in the digital market. These sources
indicate that the digital market may be double
Looking at data around published titles, pro- what the official numbers indicate. Important
duction increased from 57,473 titles in 2012 to Brazilian publishers such as Rocco, Objetiva,
62,235 in 2013, an 8.29% increase. 21,085 of these Record, Saraiva, and Zahar now offer extensive
titles were new frontlist and 41,150 were reprints. digital catalogues.
There was a 3.59% drop in copies printed, from
485 million down to 467 million. Sales in the In the last few years, Brazil has turned into an
sector increased from 4.984 million reals in 2012 interesting destination for all the major inter-
to 5.359 million reals (around 2.024 million USD) national players in the book industry. Amazon,
in 2013, a rise of 7.52%. Measuring this growth for example, having established itself in Brazil at
in constant reals reduces that number by 1.52%. the end of 2012 and opened a local version of its
Copies sold grew from 434 million in 2012 to 479 online store, has now submitted a bid to partici-
million in 2013, of which 279 million copies were pate in government programs for the distribution
sold to the state and 200 million sold to the trade. of digital textbooks. The government has already
distributed some 600,000 tablets to educators.
The average price rose from 13.66 reals in 2012 to With the acquisition of Santillana’s trade busi-
13.89 reals in 2013, an increase of 1.70%. In con- ness in early 2014, Penguin Random House has
stant reals, this increase would actually be a 4% also invested heavily in this market. Spanish pub-
drop. It is worth noting that the average price in lishers have been investing heavily in Brazil for a
constant reals has dropped by 43% in trade sales few years now – Santillana Education, Grupo SM,
since 2004. Anaya, and Grupo Planeta all have established
subsidiaries in Brazil, as have other international
As far as sales channels are concerned, sales groups such as Oxford, Longman, HarperCollins,
through bookstores, both brick and mortar and etc.
online, represented 61.40%, direct sales through
distributors 19.35%, and 5.13% door to door and In this context of global attention, there are a
catalogue sales. few other emerging trends in the market worth
keeping an eye on during the next few years:
In foreign trade, according to figures provided
by CERLALC10, exports in 2013 amounted to $18.3 ʞʞ Absorption of publishers by major media
million and the value of imports came to $170.2 groups.
million. It should be noted that institutional
support for publishing is likely to give a strong ʞʞ Acquisition of publishers for the purpose of
boost to exports in the next few years, resulting in exploring specific linguistic or geographic
a more even balance of trade. markets.
Turning to the digital market, 30,683 titles were ʞʞ Forthcoming concentration of current
published and 889,146 downloads were sold, distribution platforms due to the growing
873,973 of which were ebooks and 15,173 apps. sophistication of the market.
Digital sales were estimated at 3.9 million reals in
2012 and 12.7 million reals in 2013, an increase of From a business standpoint, the huge influence
225.13%11. However, according to various sources of bookselling chains in Brazil is an important
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report12
factor to bear in mind. As has occurred in other possesses a high consumer potential and an ideal
parts of the world, the chains have continually geostrategic location for the development of the
increased market share to the detriment of book market in the region. While the literacy rate
small, independent bookstores, which are losing among its population of 48 million inhabitants
ground. The competitive advantage of the major is still low, its pro-reading policies and multitude
stores, based on economies of scale, the optimi- of libraries have put Colombia on the path to an
zation of administrative costs, and large traffic interesting cultural transition.
volume, make it more and more difficult for
independent bookstores to survive in the market. According to the Ministry of Culture13, 104 public
This has an unfortunate effect on the distribution libraries were built, equipped and connected
of books at a national level; although the chains between 2010 and 2014, whereas in the previous
may work with a large volume of books, the 8 years only 50 libraries were built. How did
selection is not as varied as that offered by small Colombia manage to jump from a deficiency
and midsize independent bookstores, and service in libraries to almost complete coverage, and
to customers is not as personalized. This trend is become an example to follow with its National
evident in many Latin American countries12. Network of Public Libraries? To begin with, there
was an increase of investment in books and
One of the international agents, the Kobo ebook reading. While 20% of the Ministry’s resources
platform, has announced a partnership with were invested between 2007 and 2010, in the
Livraria Cultura, the largest bookstore chain in last four years this percentage has increased to
Brazil, with 14 stores throughout the country and 37.21%, to reach 350,419 million pesos. 39,968
one of the most significant online bookstores. million pesos were used for the construction
This bookstore already boasts a catalogue of of libraries alone, of which 4,655 million pesos
around 330,000 titles, and will increase its offer- were contributions from supporters of the
ing to almost 3 million titles. Other bookstore “Reading is my Story” Plan (Plan Leer es mi
chains, such as Martin Fontes, are also preparing cuento). According to Bernardo Jaramillo, Deputy
alliances of this nature. The chains have increased Director of CERLALC, the Public Library Law was
their share of sales from 6% to 15% in the last few a “cornerstone” in that process. It allowed part
years. of the former VAT on cell phones to be used for
culture, thus creating a regular source of funding
In short, Brazil is a high growth and fast-expand- earmarked for libraries and books every year.
ing market in which it seems essential to take up As described by a ministry spokesperson, “The
positions. The prudent course of action is to enter Ministry of Culture has over 20,000 million pesos,
the market in association with local partners who by virtue of the law, exclusively for investment
are familiar with its peculiarities and evolution. in libraries”14. This prompted the construction of
44 libraries in 2014, pushing the total number to
1,404 public libraries, entirely or partially sup-
COLOMBIA ported by the state.
The reality of Colombia today is that it is a The Colombian Book Chamber is an entity in
country in transition: a high rate of economic Colombia whose main objective is to “promote
growth in the last few years, political stability, the development of Colombia’s publishing
and a strong sense of social optimism are proof industry with a view to guiding, representing
positive of big changes. The third largest market and protecting the interests of its agents while
in Latin America, following Mexico and Brazil, it working toward the well-being, cooperation and
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report13
educational and cultural progress of the nation”. administrative records, and governmental data-
Its activities include administering the ISBN bases. These 174 companies represent the
agency and, as representative of the book pub- basis for creating a census of the sector that
lishers association, publishing Colombia’s yearly encompasses 2,719 companies, made up of local
book statistics. The last report published refers to publishers, importers, and exporters. Based on
information obtained in 2013.15 registration records, 72.6% of the book business
in Colombia is concentrated in Bogota; Medellín
is a distant second with 7%.
The Book Sector
Sales in the Colombian market, including domes-
According to research conducted in 2013, the tic and foreign trade, stack up as follows:
number of books and copies which were pub-
lished and produced are as follows: ʞʞ 2010: 530,943,517,088 million pesos (around
US$241 million)
ʞʞ 2011: 10,696 titles and 27.8 million copies.
ʞʞ 2011: 557,490,692,676 million pesos (around
ʞʞ 2012: 10,922 titles and 29.8 million copies. US$253 million)
ʞʞ 2013: 12,736 titles and 23.4 million copies. ʞʞ 2012: 596,381,332,771 million pesos (around
US$271 million)
The 17% increase in the publication of titles for
sale and the 21% decrease in the total production ʞʞ 2013: 618,782,745,847 million pesos (around
of copies is noteworthy since it implies a signifi- US$281 million)
cant increase in the number of books and a drop
in the print run for each one. These figures represent an 11% increase in the
last two years.
The information provided by CERLALC, based
on the number of titles registered with the ISBN Counting sales by copies sold, the increase from
Agency in 2013, cites production of 15,811 titles, 2011 to 2013 was of 22.8%, ranging from 31 to 38
implying an 11.7% increase from 2012, during million copies. The subjects that experienced
which 14,235 were registered. This increase in the highest growth during the last period were
titles is likely due to the inclusion of both trade education and general interest.
and non-trade titles; the latter in this case repre-
sent about 25%. There are 4,828 employees in the sector, which
dropped 4% from 2012.
The book world in en Colombia is represented
by four sub sectors: Education; General Interest;
Science, Technology, and Higher Education; and Digital Publishing
Religion. The 174 companies in the association,
including publishers and distributors, collaborat- On the digital side, 1,913 ebooks were published
ed in supplying the book statistics for 2013, which in 2012, an increase of 1.5% from 2011, which
has been optimised to analyse critical variables amounts to 13.2% of published titles. Thanks to
in the Colombian book business, information policies implemented by the Book Chamber with
which the Colombian Book Chamber verifies and a view to standardizing the ISBN registration of
compares with internal and external databases, ebooks, the figure rose to 3,921 titles in 2013, a
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report14
104.97% increase. By 2014, what may be described CHILE
as a normalization of the trend occurred, with a
total of 3,711 registered titles. This means that in The 17 million inhabitants of Chile rank among
2014, digital publishing in Colombia represented the highest in Latin America in terms of quality
23% of total titles published and print 77%, a very of life, development and GDP per capita. GDP
high digital publishing rate in comparison with growth during the last few years, driven primarily
other Latin American countries. by minerals exports, has led to a growth rate of
over 5%, although a certain amount of economic
The most popular subjects in digital publishing slowdown has been noticeable of late due to the
were Social Studies (6.2%), Education (5.4%), fall in commodities prices. Public policies aimed
Spanish Language (4%) and Law (3.7%). Only at improving income redistribution have had a
1.9% of Colombian fiction is published in ebook positive impact on cultural consumption, due
form. 380 different subjects were registered by both to expansion of the library system and cam-
the ISBN Agency in 2013. paigns to promote reading.
It is important to bear in mind that university Data looking at books read in the past year evi-
publishers, with 686 registrations or 36% of the dence a major improvement: while only 22.6%
total, and private publishers, with 579 registra- of the population claimed to have read one
tions, are the main drivers of digital publishing in book a year in 2005, this figure rose to 47% in
Colombia. 2012. Of those readers, 77.4% said they had read
between one and five books, 15% more than six,
The most significant format is PDF, perhaps due and 7.5% more than eleven books.16
to the importance of university publishing in
Colombia, representing 2,006 titles, followed by Efforts to improve and equip the library
ePub with 673. In any event, the adaptation and network in Chile have been ongoing over the
use of the ePub format in Colombia experienced last few years. The DIBAM (Department of
a 136% increase between 2012 and 2013. The Libraries, Archives and Museums) reports that
remaining share is distributed among many the number of libraries grew from 403 in 2009
other different formats. to 457 in 2013. They acquired 248 titles in 2013,
equivalent to 22,252 copies, which represents a
51% of digitally published books were translated 36.2% increase in the number of titles of from
from English, 46% originated in Spanish, and 3% 2012, and a 22.7% decrease in the number of
in Portuguese. In 2013, digital sales generated copies acquired.
around 21.650 million pesos (US$9.8 million),
3.6% of total sales. There has also been substantial growth in library
use over the past five years, with a 53.5% increase
In conclusion, Colombia’s emerging publishing in visits from 2009 to 2013. The number of new
sector continues to grow in importance along with users registered as members of the public library
its thriving cultural industry. The magnitude of network in 2013 reached 121,855, representing a
the incentives promoting digitisation and digital 35.4% increase with respect to 2012.17
entrepreneurship, and state policies aiming to turn
the country into a regional leader in the digital A look at the statistics provided by the Chilean
sector, make Colombia a promising market, with ISBN Agency18 for 2013 shows that 5,952 titles
particularly interesting conditions for the intro- were published, 1.5% less than 2012 and 4%
duction and development of digital markets. more than 2011. Chile has produced 27,286 titles
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report15
in the last five years. Publishing figures for 2013 in the trade category. Trade comprised 407 digital
revealed the publication of 900 titles in formats titles, or 10.41%, and 3,480 print titles, or 89%,
other than print. This figure represents 15.12% as compared with the total number of registered
of total registered titles in the country, a 48.27% titles, where digital books accounted for 6.84%
increase since 2012. eBooks were top of the list of and print books for 58.47%.
non-print formats with 523 registrations, 8.78%
of total production. Independent publishing has really taken off
during the same period, with around 100 new
The most popular subjects published in 2013 publishing companies created in the last few
were fiction (2,142 titles), representing 35.99% years, indicating a very interesting and diverse
of the total, education (990 titles), representing panorama for Chilean books.
15.79%, social studies (45 titles), representing
9.16%, and law (366 titles) representing 6.15%. Following is a synthesis of the sector’s main
figures:
From 2000 to 2013, fiction was the most popular
subject published, with 18,180 titles, followed by ʞʞ A total of 5,952 titles were registered in
education, with 9,195 registered titles, and tech- 2013, representing a 1.56% decrease com-
nology, with 4,182. pared to 2012.
Among the 5,952 titles registered in 2013, book ʞʞ 900 registered titles correspond to digital
production was concentrated in the Santiago publications (15.12% of the total).
metropolitan area with 5,046 titles, representing
84.78%. 269 titles were translations in 2013, rep- ʞʞ Fiction was the most widely published
resenting 4.52% of the registered total. subject in 2013, with 2,142 registered titles
accounting for 35.99% of the total amount.
Print runs were low due to internal market con-
straints. The majority of print runs in 2013 ranged ʞʞ Trends for previous years were maintained:
from 1 - 500 copies (3,042 titles, representing fiction, in first place, followed by educa-
51,1%), followed by 501-1000 copies (1,290 titles, tion, in second, were the most published
representing 21.67%). subjects.
Self-publishing generated 881 titles in 2013, rep- ʞʞ 881 titles were self-published in 2013,
resenting 14.80% of total production. From 2000 representing 14.80% of the total number of
to 2013, self-published books made up 8,038 titles registered.
registered titles, representing 14.24% of total
production. ʞʞ From 2000 to 2013, 8,038 titles were
self-published books, accounting for
Among the 5,952 titles registered in 2013, 3,909 14.24% of the total amount during that
were categorized as trade. This figure represents period.
65.68% of the total sum of registered titles. Print
books were the top format with 3,480 titles; ʞʞ New frontlist books in 2013 made up 5,450
digital books were second with 407 registered titles, or 91.56%.
titles; bulletins were in third place, with 16 titles;
followed by part-works, with 6 publications. ʞʞ In Chilean literature, fiction was the most
However, not all of these publications would be popular genre in 2013, with 480 titles,
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report16
followed by children’s books, with 458. One estimate, always debatable and subject to
Poetry came third, with 326 registered interpretation, would put the value of the Chilean
titles, followed by nonfiction, with 186. market at about $220 million, counting both
official and non-official consumption. Again, this
ʞʞ From 2000 to 2013, 12,600 titles were figure is an educated guess.
registered in the Chilean literature cate-
gory. Chilean poetry was the leader within
the category, with 3,689 registered titles, ECUADOR
followed by fiction, with 3,646 registered
titles. Children’s and young adult ranked Ecuador is the second smallest Latin American
third with 3,194 titles, followed by nonfic- country with an area of 256,670 square kilome-
tion, with 2,071 titles. tres (about half the size of Spain). It is situated
in the northeast of South America and shares its
ʞʞ The second most widely published subject northern border with Colombia and its south-
was education, making up a total of 940 ern and eastern borders with Peru. Its western
titles in 2013, 15.79% of the total number of boundary is the Pacific Ocean. In 2010, it had an
titles registered in Chile. estimated population of 14,161,361 inhabitants.
66% of the population is concentrated in cities
ʞʞ Publishing production was concentrated and 34% in rural areas. With high GDP growth
in Santiago in 2013, with 5,046 books in the region of 4.5% since 2010, the population’s
accounting for 84.78%. purchasing power has greatly increased, giving
rise to a significant middle class.
ʞʞ During 2013, 144 new publishers were
incorporated into the ISBN system for the Ecuador is a country with good potential for
first time, of which 113, or 78.47%, were growth in the publishing sector. Reading is still
located in Santiago. not a deeply rooted habit among the local pop-
ulation and this circumstance, combined with
ʞʞ Translations made up only 269 of regis- the high price of books, has caused most of the
tered titles, representing 4.52% of the total demand to be concentrated on the academic and
number of registered titles. professional fields. In spite of this, increases in
national production, external trade, and internal
ʞʞ English to Spanish translations were the demand during the last decade demonstrate a
most common, with 96 registered titles. positive trend in the sector which will, in all like-
lihood, be maintained in the short and mid-term,
ʞʞ The majority of print runs in 2013 ranged boosted by the growth across the Latin American
from 1 to 500 copies, with 3,042 registered region, which has managed to overcome the
titles falling in this range. global economic crisis more easily than other
areas of the world. Furthermore, the demograph-
The Chilean Book Chamber does not offer sales ic evolution of the country, with an increasing
figures. CERLALC19, however, reported that number of university graduates and a more edu-
exports by the Chilean book industry were valued cated population, will help to transform existing
at $9.3 million in 2013 and imports were estimat- cultural patterns and reinforce the consumption
ed at $82.3 million. 80% of imports came from of books.20
countries outside the Latin American region.
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report17
There are three main problems affecting this Below are the figures from the Ecuadorian Book
market. First, imported books carry high prices. Chamber corresponding to book production by
Second, almost 30% of publications are not reg- number of titles and copies:
istered with the ISBN agency. Third, book piracy
is extensive: 15% of the books sold in bookstores ʞʞ 2008: 3,596 titles and 9.6 million copies
are pirate editions, leading to a parallel publish-
ing industry in which wide swaths of the popula- ʞʞ 2009: 3,399 titles and 8.6 million copies
tion find refuge, their access to the legal market
being obviously limited due to lack of income. ʞʞ 2010: 4,164 titles and 12.1million copies
Despite these challenges, the Ecuadorian market
offers great opportunities, both because of the ʞʞ 2011: 4,371 titles and 11.8 million copies
development potential in the book industry
and the creation of a highly sustainable internal With respect to 2011, the five publishers with the
market. The emergence of ebooks promises highest number of registered titles were:
business opportunities in a country with highly
differentiated consumer segments, where a ʞʞ Universidad Técnica de Loja: 749 titles.
target audience is coming into existence with a
sufficiently high income to develop these kinds of ʞʞ Santillana: 444 titles.
niches in the market.
ʞʞ Governmental and public sector: 255 titles.
According to the Ecuadorian Book Chamber21,
the number of officially registered publishers ʞʞ Corporación Estudios y Publicaciones: 240
is 322. This figure has risen rapidly in the last titles.
20 years, ranging from 71 in 1991 to the current
322, with a high concentration in the country’s ʞʞ Norma Group: 199 titles.
capital, Quito.
Ecuadorian market figures are difficult to come
The publishers referred to in these figures, by because the Ecuadorian Book Chamber
however, include foundations, universities, and does not collect statistics of that nature, which
governmental organizations, which print a very are exclusively controlled by publishers and
low quantity of books and copies, meaning the bookstores, thus making it necessary to resort to
number of publishers that actually print books in estimations.
large quantities is much lower. In fact, among the
322 publishing houses registered in the country, A total of 4,488 domestically produced titles were
99 are non-profits, 36 are NGOs, and 41 belong to registered in 2012, an increase of 2.67% in compar-
national, provincial or municipal public entities, ison with 2011; 9.1 million copies were produced in
and 13 are owned by international corporations 2012, a drop of 22.92% with respect to 201122.
or organizations.
The most popular subjects and formats were as
More than 20,000 people in Ecuador work in follows:
the publishing sector, according to the Book
Chamber, including distributors, importers, ʞʞ General interest: 2,170
booksellers and publishers; 80% are employed
full time and 30% hold temporary positions. ʞʞ Educational: 1,308
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report18
ʞʞ STM: 897 University presses, particularly the University of
Loja, also have an outsized impact on production
ʞʞ Religion: 113 and the diversity of books published.
ʞʞ Total: 4,448 An approximation of the market size, based on
estimations and projections, would put Ecuador
ʞʞ Print: 4,249 (2.39% more than in 2011) in a range between 110 and 125 million. Again,
this is only an estimate.
ʞʞ Digital: 239 (8.14% more than in 2011)
The increase in number of digital titles produced SPAIN
was significant:
The history of Spain’s ebook market could be
ʞʞ 2008: 27 said to begin in September 2011 with the arrival
of Amazon to the Spanish market. It is thus quite
ʞʞ 2009: 32 a short history, in the early stages of its develop-
ment. Since then, the growth of ebooks has been
ʞʞ 2010: 219 significant. From a production standpoint, figures
rose from 2,519 registered titles in 2008 to 19,077
ʞʞ 2011: 221 in 2014, representing 26% of total publishing
production. These figures do not include titles
ʞʞ 2012: 239 by authors who have chosen to self-publish, a
rapidly expanding business in Spanish-language
Foreign trade figures in 2012 revealed imports in markets, discussed in greater detail below. If
the amount of $47.6 million, 7.64% less than in ebooks currently represent 4% of trade sales, it
2011, and exports worth $5 million, 25.58% more would be not be unreasonable to expect they
than in 2011. The change in the figures from 2008 could reach a share of close to 20% by 2020.
to 2012 is quite interesting, showing a big fall in
imports and a significant increase in exports. In This gives rise to the question of whether there
2008 imports were valued at $57.7 million and is, in fact, a corresponding revenue opportunity
exports at $2.8 million. when it comes to ebooks in Spain. It is true that
sales and revenue do not necessarily develop
Ecuador’s exports went to a diverse range of in parallel. We believe that the cause is to be
countries, although the most significant partners found much more by looking at the speed at
were Mexico (23%), Guatemala (22%), El Salvador which highly disruptive technologies are being
(16,8%) and Peru (9,2%). Imports also came from introduced, rather than focusing on piracy – the
diverse sources and were mainly received from effects of which, without dismissing them entire-
Colombia (19%), Mexico (15.3%), the US (14.3%) ly, cannot be properly evaluated in the absence
and Spain (13.7%). of serious, cautious, and independent studies
carried out by objective observers. An increase
Spanish exports dominated the Ecuadorian in the rate of purchasing habits among Spanish
market until the mid 1990s. The presence in readers is directly related to the integration into
Ecuador of a number of Spanish publishers such the marketplace of younger generations, already
as Planeta and Santillana may be the reason. familiar with the use of screens, and the incorpo-
ration of secondary sales channels, such as library
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report19
borrowing services, both in public and univer- number of smart phones in the hands of users
sity libraries. An increase in disposable income (over 80% penetration in 2013), the inescapable
among the younger generations, coupled with conclusion is that there is a serious gap between
library lending and new subscription models that the huge fascination caused by digital and the
are suited to the needs of this particular group, low commercial payoff.
may well lead directly to an increase in demand
for ebooks within the next few years. According to e-commerce statistics in Spain, 11
million people made a purchase over the Internet
The penetration of devices in Spain, at an average in the last year, totalling a sum of €12.383 million,
of six devices (smartphones, PC, tablets, etc.) per a 13.4% increase from 201224. This represents
user23, out of which, there are a sum of almost 7 31.5% of the entire population, still far below
million devices between e-readers and tablets, the 47% European average reported Eurostat.
in combination with established habits of con- Despite the adverse economic situation, the
suming entertainment via screens, constitute growth in Spain gives rise to a certain general
necessary – though not in and of themselves suf- optimism, although a breakdown of numbers in
ficient – conditions for the market to take off. An search of business figures relating specifically to
analysis of the low rate of purchase or download digital content reveals a widespread slowdown of
per device offers cause for doubt. the entire content industry.25
In the last two years, sales of tablets have largely Statistics pertaining to the production of digital
surpassed those of e-readers. The question is why books reflect the publishing sector’s efforts to
the ratio of downloads is so low in relation to the create a major offering of digital content for users
number of devices. Adding to this equation the in spite of the crisis.
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Variation
Digital books 2,519 5,077 12,948 18,339 20,708 20,656 -0,2%
As a percentage of
2.4 4.6 11.3 16.4 19.8 23.2 3.4
total books
Source: The Book Sector in Spain, 2012-2014.
The digital offering in Spain continues to be number of books registered in 2013 (74,300). In
limited nonetheless. Comparing the digital 2014, 19,077 titles in digital format were regis-
production above with that of print books at tered, 6.2% less than in 2013, representing 26%
almost 75.00026 titles, and observing the number of total production by Spanish publishers during
of new frontlist titles and first editions, clearly that year.
the limited digital catalogue is a serious hand-
icap when it comes to developing the market. There is also the question of self-published
Spanish publishers registered a total of 72,416 books without ISBN numbers. They are by no
titles in 2014 in every format (print, digital, and means small in number, but specifics are difficult
others), according to the ISBN Agency. This figure to come by given that they reside in the hands
represents a 2.5% decrease with respect to the of companies unwilling to share information,
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets Report20
making it difficult to establish the percentage opposed to 3,029 in the previous school year, a
of these titles as compared to ISBN registered 97% increase.
digital titles. Regardless, self-publishing is
unquestionably an important factor to bear in Turning to ebook sales figures, the Internal Trade
mind. According to estimations, self-publishing Report for 2013 cited sales of €80.2 million, or
generates about €8 million, and at least 50% is 3.7% of total book sales. Various sources have
calculated to be clearly digital. These figures are questioned this figure since it does not include
hidden in part when it comes to accurately calcu- information held by certain multi-national
lating the real size of the digital market in Spain. online platforms with a catalogue of thousands
of self-published books, many of them with no
Moving from self-published authors to publish- assigned ISBN. These sources indicate that the
ers, there has been an increase in the number of number of downloads, when it comes to trade
publishers publishing digital books: up to 709 titles sold through retail channels, increased to
publishers in 2013 from 664 in 2012, i.e. 23% of 4.1 million27 in 2014. Calculated at an average
publishing companies active in 2013. Thus the price of €5.85, this would indicate sales of €24
problem of a limited digital offering persists. The million, about 10% more than the previous year.
Spanish catalogue in print contains more than In any case, the €80 million of total sales figure,
500,000 titles. There is clearly a need to consider though it may seem small, is in line with the
whether incentives are called for to promote the digital share of sales in other European markets.
digitization of this immense catalogue, as proof
against it becoming an argument in the ongoing
debate over piracy. Average
Year Downloads Sales in €
Price
Looking at formats, ePub2 is gaining ground in
digital production. In 2012, 42.7% of ebooks were 2010 40,000 520,000 13
published in PDF and 35.4% in ePub format; in 2011 240,000 2,200,000 9.17
2013, 38.5% published in PDF and 39.1% in ePub,
with a parallel increase in Mobi format to 6.3%. 2012 2,000,00 14,000,000 7
The decision to publish in one format or another
2013 3,200,000 22,000,000 6.88
is related to the nature of the subject matter and
reader behavior. For example, university presses 2014 4,100,000 24,000,000 5.85
and publishers of social studies and humanities
texts are more inclined to publish in PDF format
due to the use readers make of their texts Whatever the exact sales figures, it’s worth point-
(underlining, note taking, etc.). The upcoming ing out that while the publishing sector has been
emergence of ePub3, which even more amenable shrinking since 2009, with an 11.7% decrease in
to these kinds of uses than PDF, will bring about 2013, digital sales are increasing on a yearly basis
a gradual migration to more sophisticated elec- and achieved 8.1% growth in 2013.
tronic formats.
On the subject of pricing, the most noteworthy
The growth in digital textbooks is also a sig- trend is an ongoing drop in prices since 2011, with
nificant factor worth noting. According to the a current average of about €6. A faulty pricing
Spanish Association of Publishers of Books mechanism, taking as its basis the print edition,
and Educational Material (ANELE), 6,334 titles the growth of self-publishing, and the pressure
were published for the 2014-2015 school year, as exerted by certain online platforms, has resulted
Bookwire
The Spanish and Portuguese Digital Markets ReportYou can also read
