About:
Planeta leads the world's Spanish-language publishing markets in Spain and Latin America. The company has further strongholds in Portugal and France, where it owns Editis, the country’s second-largest group. Planeta is continuing to expand, with an emphasis on reading groups and international partnerships. In 2010 the company partnered with Santillana, Random House Mondadori and several smaller publishers to found the ebook distribution platform Libranda.
After successfully consolidating Editis in 2009, Planeta acquired a 50% stake in Spain’s largest reading community, “Circulo de lectores”, the world’s second largest reading club after “France loisir” in France (according to Livres hebdo). “Circulo de lectores” has a million subscribers and revenues of ca. 120 million EUR, and was acquired from Bertlesman's Direct group in spring 2010.
Groupo Planeta has a presence in 25 countries, with more than 100 imprints and a catalogue of 15,000 titles.
Aside from book publishing, the group has shares in the newspaper La Razón and in Grupo Antena 3, which includes the television channels Antena 3, Neox, Nova and Nitro, and the radio stations Onda Cero, Europa FM and Onda Melodía.Through Prisma Publicaciones, Grupo Planeta also manages a number of prominent special-interest magazines, including Interiores, Psychologies, Historia y Vida and Lonely Planet.
Fundación José Manuel Lara, the ownership's family foundation, is a main sponsor of cultural events and literary awards, notably El Premio Planeta.
Key company developments in 2011 & 1st half year 2012
Financial:
With a reported 30% decline among Spanish bestsellers in early 2012, due to the general economic crisis, significant repercussions must be expected for Planeta’s revenues after a period of strong growth over the past several years.
Planeta disclosed for the first time revenue figures based on 2009 data for the purpose of this ranking.
Ownership, mergers & acquisition, internal organization:
Planeta acquired 50% of the independent Spanish publisher Tusquet in May 2012 (after holding already a share of 40% since 1995).
Casa del Libro acquired the book chain Bertrand in Spain.
International:
The Argentinian policy of tight control on imports of all kind, including books, has led to confrontation.
Digital:
In fall 2011, Planeta agreed with Apple to distribute ebook titles through the iBookstore.
Planeta de Libros (www.planetadelibros.com ) has been created as an online forum and platform for authors and readers.
In May 2010, Planeta announced the introduction of a B2B eBook distribution platform together with the second and the third largest publishing groups in Spain, Random House Mondadori and Santillana under the brand name of “Libranda”, serving many of Spain’s leading retail chains, including El Corte Inglés, Fnac, Casa del Libro, and Abacus, as well as partners in Europe, Latin America and the US. The platform of Libranda currently serves seven publishing houses, namely: Grupo Planeta, Grupo Random House Mondadori, Grupo Santillana, Roca Editorial, Grup62, Grupo SM y Grupo Wolters Kluwer. By June 2011, Libranda has a catalogue of 4147 ebook titles.
Bestselling authors & titles:
Carlos Ruíz Zafon: El prisoner del cielo (fall 2011).
Key points for analysis & conclusions:
n/a
Earlier developments:
Effective June 2008, Grupo Planeta acquired the secong largest French publishing group Editis from the Belgium Wendel investment group for 1.02 million EUR. By this move, Planeta has become one of the leading global trade publishers; though rooted in Spain, they now have vested interests in both Europe and the Americas.
The transformation triggered a considerable management shake-up, as Planeta’s president José Manuel Lara took over also as Editis’ new president by March 2009, with Alain Kouck, who ran Editis until the takeover, as its new vice president. In a statement, Lara argued that the re-arrangement was meant to give the administrative board “greater subtlety in its decision making”.
Grupo Planeta offers a wide variety of services for the culture, training, information and entertainment sectors. Backed by Planeta publishers, direct sales and over fifty years of experience, Planeta's content was the first to appear in multimedia format and is now online and in digital and interactive TV.
Planeta’s imprints include Editorial Planeta, Grandes Publicaciones, Ediciones Destino, Editorial Seix Barral, Ediciones Temas de Hoy, Ediciones Minotauro, Infantil y Juvenil, Booket, Editorial Ariel, Ediciones GeoPlaneta, Planeta Publishing Corp (in English), with operations in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Mexico.
Aside from publishing, Planeta’s activities include collectibles, professional education, direct sales, distance learning, audiovisual and communication.
Editis, one of the largest educational and consumer publishing groups in France, traces its roots back to 1835, when it was founded by Charles-Louis Havas as a news agency. Its imprints include: Literature: Editions First; La Découverte; Le cherche midi éditeur; Editions XO; (Oh ! Editions); Place des éditeurs (Presses de la Cité, Belfond, Omnibus, Hors Collection, Le Pré aux Clercs, Solar, Acropole, Lonely Planet); Plon; Robert Laffont; Seghers; and Univers Poche (Pocket, Pocket Jeunesse, Kurokawa, Langues Pour Tous, 10/18, Fleuve Noir). Editis also owns education publishers Nathan and Bordas, and reference publisher Le Robert.
Both Planeta and Editis have strong distribution in their respective markets.
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.
