The mood on the eve of the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair last week was the gloomiest in many years, although spirits picked up in the American Hall once the doors opened for business. Fair organizers said that more than 40,700 trade visitors came to the fair on Wednesday, with international attendance up 6.5%.
Still, a front-page story about the fair and the industry's problems in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper had a telling headline: "Shadows over publishers." The figures behind the gloom show that the number of exhibitors is down 4%, to 6,375, all of which is attributable to the 14% decline in German exhibitors, to 2,128. Volker Neumann, the new director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, indicated that this was in part because fewer German electronic publishers are exhibiting on their own (many electronic operations have been folded into publishing houses). In addition, because of a change in emphasis in the art section to art books and book art, fewer galleries have taken stands.
On the other hand, the number of international exhibitors rose 2%, to 4,247. Next to Germany, English-speaking countries have the most exhibitors here, led by the U.K., with 859, and the U.S., with 734. Still, many exhibitors have taken smaller stands. For example, in a move reminiscent of its American cousin's approach to BEA in the past year, the German Random House (aka Bertelsmann) has reportedly cut its exhibit space by a third from last year. Overall, the amount of space devoted to stands at the world's largest book fair dropped almost 5% in 2002, to 173,588 square meters (about 684,000 square feet).
There was no word on attendance at press time, but fewer nonexhibitors are expected as well. Some exhibitors have noticed the change immediately. On his way to the fair, one American who sells U.S. titles to a range of European booksellers said he was surprised by the number of major accounts who usually come to the fair but will be absent this year. "Things are so difficult," he said, "that they have to choose between buying books and paying for a trip to Frankfurt."
Despite the drop in exhibition booths, business on the first day for American exhibitors seemed solid after a quiet first hour or two. Typical was a comment from Baker & Taylor's Bill Preston, who pointed to crowded tables scattered through the wholesalers' booth and said, "We're seeing a lot of major accounts." Likewise, Mark Suchomel of Independent Publishers Group told PW that business was busy.
Soft German Market
By many measures, German publishing and bookselling is hurting. In the first eight months of 2002, sales in the book trade are down 1.2%. Even if Christmas is merry for booksellers, it is likely that the industry will still end the year on a negative note. For all of last year, book sales were up just 0.9%. Among the few bright spots: German publishers specializing in career and business-related titles have above-average sales growth, many in double digits. Also, sales of paperbacks grew 19.7%, meaning that more, cheaper books were sold during 2001 in Germany.
Many smaller bookstores have closed this year, and some major ones, including the famous Kiepert in Berlin, went under. The major chain Hugendubel has made cutbacks. A July survey conducted by the Boersenverein, the German publishers, wholesalers and booksellers association, indicated that 60% of booksellers had "considerably lower sales" in 2002 so far, while only 15.9% had a gain. The results run across the board regardless of store size.
Several publishing houses are for sale, although no buyers are on the horizon. Major houses have cut their lists drastically. Focus magazine reports that things are so bad that some publishers here are forgoing contracted books if advance orders are too low.
