With the advertising environment still soft, Meredith Corp. has been devoting more resources to its nonadvertising-supported operations. At a recent analysts' conference, publishing group president Steve Lacy noted that 56% of that group's revenues come from sources other than advertising, including book publishing.
After a slow first half of the year, revenues rose in the book group in the third quarter ended March 31, and Lacy told analysts that the book business "has significant growth potential as we look into the future." Meredith will release the 12th edition of Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book this fall with a first printing of 500,000 copies. The book unit also continues to expand its presence in nonbookstore outlets. It recently began selling its home and garden titles in special displays at Target stores and has started distributing those titles to an additional 1,000 Wal-Mart outlets.
The book group also hopes to benefit from a companywide initiative to develop retail relationships similar to its relationship with Home Depot. New agreements have been reached with the Northeast supermarket chain Wegmans and with Jo-Ann's fabric stores. The deals provide Meredith with the opportunity to create books, sell books and magazines and provide category management services for the retailers' book and magazine sections.
