Top Five Trade Houses Take 45% of Market Share

The country's five largest trade book publishers had estimated domestic revenue of $4.10 billion in 2002, according to PW's ranking of the major trade houses. The sales of the big five—Random House, Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and AOL Time Warner Book Group—accounted for approximately 45% of all sales generated in the adult, children and mass market segments last year.

Random House's North American (U.S. and Canadian) sales totaled $1.45 billion in 2002, easily making it the largest publisher on the continent. Penguin and HarperCollins are in a virtual tie for second place. Although Penguin has higher worldwide sales than HarperCollins, HC's $830 million in North American sales topped Penguin's $800 million. Penguin's sales, however, do not include Penguin Canada, which reports to Pearson Education, while HC's revenue includes its Canadian subsidiary as well as its large religion book group, Zondervan. And although HC's parent company, News Corp., has a fiscal year ending June 30, HC's sales are calculated on a calendar basis.

Simon & Schuster derived the majority of its sales from North America, with its international sales estimated to account for just under 5% of its revenue of $690 million. S&S is looking to expand its international operations, particularly in the U.K. In contrast, the AOL Time Warner Book Group's international sales represent about 15% of its overall $415 million in revenue, and the company has a major presence in the U.K.

Largest Trade Publishers, 2002
($in millions)