search.noResults

search.searching

saml.title
dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
21.10.16 www.thebookseller.com


FEATURE BREXIT: THE BOOK FAIR EFFECT


09


the trade book fair? ‘‘


imagine the power shifting to FBF, as “the combination of language and geography is on our side”. But she believes Brexit “will have an impact on territoriality which could be disastrous for UK publishers”, who would be further imperiled were Australia to become an open market. She says: “It’s a bit like losing retail price maintenance: 10 years down the line we might find our export market eroded. We need it, because we have such a small home market, so I do see trouble ahead. With paperbacks in particular, Australia and Europe can be two-thirds of total sales.” But agent David Grossman thinks


it’s possible that Europeans may be so discomfited by Brexit that they decide the UK is “not a place to do business”. And, like some agents, he feels that LBF itself could be better organised. It’s not difficult to find others who share this view, particularly among those who experienced LBF’s move to ExCel, then back to Earls Court, and then to Olympia. Profile Books m.d. Andrew Franklin


believes London is “a classic failure of free-market economics. For all its faults, Frankfurt is much better organised, a more collegiate event. I’m not against companies being run for profit. But could LBF be better run? Unequivocally, yes.” Frankfurt is owned by the German book trade, LBF by Reed Exhibitions, for which it must return a profit. Some feel this allows Frankfurt greater leeway in dealing with the various interests trade fairs must satisfy. That said, most agree that LBF 2016—the third year under director Jacks Thomas—was an improvement on its return to Olympia in 2015, when there were complaints about changes to the booking system and, in particular, about tiered pricing in the International Rights Centre.


THE RIGHTS APPROACH? This year, 90% of International Rights Centre space was classed “Standard”, a modest victory, though price increases approached 10%. LBF is pro rata more expensive than Frankfurt, where the


It’s a bit like losing retail price maintenace: 10 years down the line we might find our export market eroded. We need it, because we have such a small home market


Clare Alexander, agent, Aitken Alexander


sole LitAg package includes free city travel. “Two tables at LBF next year cost £1,347 for three days; Frankfurt this year costs €1,600 [£1,442 at the post-Brexit exchange rate] for six,” said agent Jane Gregory. “Added to which [is that] you are extremely cramped. So less space and less time: not good value for money.” Reed’s problem is that with no more hall space to sell, it has to find new ways of making money. LBF has outgrown Olympia, the only alternative to ExCel. However, the 2006 excursion east was so disliked that a mooted move back there in 2014 was eventually shelved. Some agents and publishers believe Olympia is big enough if LBF prunes the top-heavy seminar programme. But in the US, Reed’s strategy has been the opposite. LBF’s sister fair, BookExpo America (BEA), has shown there is money to be made from public attendance, but the success of ReedPOP—which grew out of the New York launch of Comic-Con in 2006—has fundamentally changed BEA: ReedPOP is a distinct division of Reed Exhibitions that is dedicated to consumer events, and runs 40-plus shows globally each year. BEA is now under the direction of ReedPOP, which has been tasked with delivering its magic at a B2B event. Steve Rosato, BEA’s long-serving


director who left this spring to join e-book distributor OverDrive, never disputed the benefits of adding consumers to the trade mix, but he still held that BEA’s core value was as a B2B event. Yet many publishers feel


that growing consumer elements make it harder to do business and so have scaled down their presence. Thomas has taken a different route, launching London Book & Screen Week, a series of umbrella events which take place outside the fair and which (mostly) don’t impact on the day-to-day business of the show. On Rosato’s watch, BEA revenues grew 3%–5% annually, despite its footprint declining. Seeing ReedPOP events achieving 15%–20% growth, Reed raised the bar, demanding 10% uplifts for some trade fairs and a 5%–7% rise from BEA; tough to achieve, given industry consolidation. Some feel that in our wired world,


two English-language fairs a year is excessive. Scout Catherine Eccles, of Eccles Fisher Associates, thinks it “a very unimaginative approach” that results in “bunched submissions”. Others say the issues are more fundamental. Following the ExCel debacle, agent Andrew Nurnberg almost succeeded in establishing Frankfurt in London. And his view has not changed. “Books are a sideline for Reed,” he says. In response to the points raised,


Thomas says: “For years, people have discussed whether the increased reliance on digital communication will reduce the relevance of book fairs; so far this does not appear to be the case as we continue to welcome increased representation from all over the globe each year. Equally, as digital advances continue to inform all of our lives, the opportunities to work across the creative industries are broadening, thus bringing different visitors and exhibitors to the book fair as these strands are explored. “LBF is proud to be one of the most


significant rights fairs in the world with rights trading taking place throughout the entire fair—most specifically, of course, within the International Rights Centre. We work closely with our IRC Steering Committee, and after introducing choice within our offering in 2015, we refined the offer in 2016 based on its feedback. We conduct extensive annual post-show research and use this to inform our year-on-year planning. We have a very wide range of exhibitors and visitors, and insight into all their needs is important to us.” 


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32