Simon & Schuster is owned by CBS Corporation and publishes and distributes consumer books. Imprints include Pocket Books, Scribner, and Atria.
Analysis & Key Developments
Financial
In 2013, revenues increased 2% to 809 million USD from 790 million USD in 2012 due to growth in digital book sales, which increased 22% and represented 27% of total publishing revenues for 2013, compared to 23% in 2012.
Gains in operating income were mainly driven by revenue growth, and were offset by last year’s e-book price-fixing litigation. The higher percentage from digital book sales was partially offset by higher advertising expenses.
U.S. operations closed with the strongest performance of the year, with children's sales up by 10%.
Ownership, Mergers & Acquisition, Internal Organization
In October 2013, Simon & Schuster announced a new science fiction and fantasy imprint to release 12 to 15 hardcovers per year, beginning in spring 2015. The yet unnamed imprint will be overseen by Jon Anderson, executive vice-president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
International
Simon & Schuster won approval from the Canadian government to expand its operations in the country, overcoming previous prohibitions in place to protect indigenous cultural industries. Penguin, Random House and HarperCollins had entered the Canadian market before the law was brought into force. Simon & Schuster Canada released its first three titles in fall 2013.
Digital
Simon & Schuster was one of the last of the big five to enter the library e-book market, beginning with a pilot program in April 2013. The program was expanded in January 2014 with a partnership with OverDrive to reach 15 more library systems.
Bestselling Authors & Titles
Simon & Schuster published 326 New York Times bestsellers in hardcover, paperback and electronic formats, including 37 New York Times #1 bestsellers. Bestselling titles in 2013 include Doctor Sleep (Stephen King), Happy, Happy, Happy (Phil Robertson) and Si-cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty's Favorite Uncle (Si Robertson).
Children’s bestsellers were led by City of Bones, Clockwork Princess, and Dork Diaries 6. The Dork series now has about 13 million books in print.
Earlier Developments
Financial
2012 revenues, which amounted to 790 million USD, were relatively flat compared to 2011 (787 million USD). Growth came from e-book sales, while print book sales were down. Revenues from digital sales increased 35% from the previous year and represented 23% of total publishing revenues in 2012 compared to 17% in 2011. Simon & Schuster also incurred litigation and settlement costs from the various e-book pricing cases. S&S's children's division had the best performance in the first quarter of 2013, while sales in the adult segment lower due to a lack of huge sellers, according to CEO Carolyn Reidy.
Ownership, Mergers & Acquisition, Internal Organization
Following a reorganization of adult publishing, Free Press was integrated with Simon & Schuster, Touchstone became part of the Scribner Publishing Group, Howard Books joined the Atria Publishing Group, and the Gallery Publishing Group continued to house Pocket Books, Pocket Star, Threshold Editions, MTV Books, and Karen Hunter Publishing.
Simon & Schuster entered distribution partnerships with some of the largest sites on the web, including AOL, Blinkx.com, and Roku. Combined with pre-existing partnerships with YouTube, Goodreads and others, S&S videos garner more than 1 million views per month.
Pocket Books, America’s first paperback publisher, re-launched its Pocket Star line as an e-book imprint, featuring bestselling and debut authors in popular genres including women’s fiction, romance, thrillers, urban fantasy, and mystery.
International
S&S expanded its publishing program in Canada after the current Canadian conservative government approved the operation. S&S was the only multinational publisher in Canada prohibited from publishing Canadian books, due to foreign ownership regulations created to protect domestic cultural industries.
Digital
Digital content represented approximately 23% of Simon & Schuster's revenues in 2012, up from 17% last year. Growth was highest in international markets and young adult, while adult fiction sales grew below the 14% average as popular authors held their print sales.
In November 2012, S&S entered the self-publishing business through a partnership with Author Solutions. Archway Publishing offers self-publishing services in fiction, nonfiction, business and children’s categories, with a backend powered by ASI, the self-publishing provider acquired by Pearson/Penguin earlier this year.
Bestselling Authors & Titles
In 2012, Simon & Schuster published 317 New York Times bestsellers in hardcover, paperback and electronic formats, including 35 New York Times #1 bestsellers. Bestselling titles in 2012 include Kill Shot by Vince Flynn, Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult, Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon, and Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander. Bestselling children's titles from Simon & Schuster include City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare and Dork Diaries 4 by Rachel Renee Russell.
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