About:
Eksmo is one of the largest general interest publishing houses in Russia. Established in 1991 as a small book-selling company, they gradually became a major player on the Russian market. Eksmo's portfolio includes fiction and non-fiction, young adult and children's literature, reference, and educational titles.
Home to about 8000 authors, their bestsellers include crime-writers Darya Dontsova and Alexandra Marinina, and literary writers Tatyana Tolstaya, Ludmila Ulitskaya, and Viktor Pelevin. Eksmo also publishes science fiction and fantasy writers such as Sergey Lukyanenko, Yuri Nikitin, Vasily Golovachev, Nick Perumov, Vera Kamsha, Vadim Panov and Alexey Pekhov.
Eksmo was the first to familiarize the Russian reader with Artemis Fowl, a series of children's books by Irish writer Eoin Colfer. They also publish Dmitri Yemets's Harry Potter-derived Tanya Grotter series.
The Moscow-based publishing house is home to many writers living outside of Russia, including the United States, Austria and Germany.
In 1993, EKSMO also started a self-publishing company. In 2005, the company was awarded the honorary title of "Leader of the Russian economy."
EKSMO claims to control 20% of the Russian book market. EKSMO is also active in distribution, with nine regional distribution centers across the Russian territory.
Key company developments in 2011 & 1st half year 2012
Financial:
In the challenging and recently declining Russian book market, EKSMO showed a remarkably steady performance both in revenues and in profits.
Ownership, mergers & acquisition, internal organization:
In June 2012, EKSMO agreed to acquire AST after the two companies merged.
International:
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Digital:
EKSMO has become a leader in Russian eBooks, reporting earnings of roughly 15% from digital.
Bestselling authors & titles:
EKSMO is home of many of Russia’s bestselling authors in fiction and nonfiction, as well as translated authors, notably Daria Donrsova, Tatiana Ustinova, Victor Pelevin, Tatiana Tolstaya, Liudmila Ulitskaya, Dina Rubina, Vasiliy Golovachev, Vladimir Makanin, Oleg Roy, Alexandra Marinina, Julia Vysotskaya, Tatiana Garmach-Roffe, Marina Kramer, Andrey Dementiev; Stieg Larsson, Haruki Murakami, Ian McEwan, John Irving, Julian Barnes, John Fowles, Kazuo Ishiguro, Lawrence Norfolk, Terry Pratchett, Tony Parssons, Elizabeth George, Mary Higgins Clark, Philippa Gregory, Angela Carter, Iris Murdoch, Joanne Harris, Mary Stewart, Margaret Atwood, A.S.Bayatt, Dick Francis, Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Frederick Forsyth, Eoin Colfer, Rick Riordan, Jonathan Stroud.
Key points for analysis & conclusions:
EKSMO and AST are Russia's leading publishing houses, with a strong international presence. EKSMO has been at the forefront of presenting titles in digital formats, challenging Russia's rampant piracy with a legal option for readers.
Earlier developments:
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Note: Figures are based on sales generated in calendar 2011 or—for corporations with a fiscal year—from fiscal 2011. Data are from publicly available sources and include sales of books, journals, and digital products. Because publishing data were unavailable, Pannini and Disney/Hyperion are excluded from the rankings. The listing and publisher profiles were compiled by international publishing consultant Rudiger Wischenbart under the aegis of Livres Hebdo.
