Gruppo editoriale Mauri Spagnol (GeMS) is a privately held publishing group and the third largest publisher in Italy. It controls 9 publishing houses: Bollati Boringhieri, La Coccinella and its imprint Garzanti, Guanda, Longanesi, Nord, Salani (with the imprints Ape Junior, Magazzini Salani, Nord-Sud and Ponte alle Grazie), TEA (with imprints Lìmina, RL Libri and Tre60), and Vallardi. GeMS launched Duomo Ediciones in Barcelona in 2008.
Italy’s leading book and periodical distribution group Messaggerie Italiane is the largest shareholder of GeMS. Messaggerie Italiane was founded in 1914 and currently serves 300 publishers and 4,000 points of sale.
GeMS sold 10 million books directly, along with another 6 million under licensing agreements.
The current form of GeMS was established in October 2005, following an agreement between the Mauri and Spagnol families. The mission of Gruppo editoriale Mauri Spagnol is to “enable the individual publishing houses to invest in joint projects, create stronger product lines and enhance the visibility of the group’s authors, as well as to both streamline and develop synergies in their central functions, while leaving each one of them complete editorial freedom.”
Analysis & Key Developments
Financial
Gruppo Messaggerie provided information on revenues from publishing and book distribution, while revenues from of periodicals were excluded.
The group began with a period of rapid growth that halted in 2010 due to a shrinking book market and general economic crisis in Italy. GeMS resumed growth in 2013 after a significant drop in revenues in 2012.
Internal organization
Gruppo Messaggerie, acting as a holding structure, oversees book and magazine publishing and distribution. President Achille Mauri claims that the group accounts for 30% of the Italian publishing market.
Stefano Mauri, President and CEO of GeMS, was appointed Vice President of the group in January 2013 to oversee strategic developments.
The Mauri Foundation was created in 2014 to celebrate Messaggerie Italiane’s centenary. The Foundation is now in charge of the Scuola per Librai Umberto e Elisabetta Mauri (Umberto and Elisabetta Mauri Booksellers’ School) in Venice.
Gruppo Messaggerie signed a distribution and wholesale agreement with Feltrinelli Group in 2014.
Digital
In 2010, GeMS became a founding member with Feltrinelli and RCS Rizzoli of the Italian e-book platform Edigita, which offers e-book distribution, digital marketing and conversion. Retail partners include bol.it, ibs.it, illibraio.it, ebook.it and Book Republic.
In 2014 Messaggerie signed an agreement with Deutsche Telekom for the launch in Italy of European e-reader Tolino.
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